Traveling On
by LoveConquers
Summary: Their last mission had been seeped in the past. Little did they know their next one would test the realities of the present, taking them on a new journey of discovery for them all. Sequel to Traveling Souls. BS.
1. Chapter 1

Traveling On

Disclaimer: Not mine! Mutant X belongs to Tribune and Marvel.

Summary: Their last mission had been seeped in the past; little did they know their next one would test the realities of the present, taking them on a new journey of discovery for them all. Sequel to Traveling Souls and Part II of the Journey of Discovery Series. B/S and some J/E.

Rating: PG to a mild PG-13

A/N: I'm finally back! The idea for this story came to me as I was listening to a song on the radio on my way into work. The following question popped into my head: What if Brennan woke up to find it had all been a dream? Ideas took off from there, and this story was born. For the longest time I couldn't decide if I should continue on from Traveling Souls into an AU world since it is set right before episode 222 with Adam and Emma or if I should continue after episode 222 with the death of Adam and Emma and the joining of Lexa. I hope you'll like how I finally decided to resolve that little dilemma, although it won't fully be shown until later. I was given requests for both settings, so I did my best to balance out all requests. On a side note, since we never know the exact timeline of MX, I've set this series "sometime in the near future," so am not assuming a present year of 2005 for this story. Jesse states in episode 222 that he is 28 years old, so I am assuming Brennan is one to two years older. There is also a slight reference to episode 204 in this chapter, although I took the liberty of adding a memory to the events of that episode. As last time, this is still a work in progress, and my schedule is busier than ever, so I will most likely be updating only once a week. I hope you'll stay with me through this new story and join me on a new journey of discovery; of the past, of the present, and of the future, of life, of love, and of home. Thank you!

_Excerpt From Traveling Souls:_

_"Traveling souls."_

_The words were so soft, she might have only imagined them. She glanced back over her shoulder at Brennan, and he tightened his hold on her fingers. Her eyes drifted back to their footprints, partially erased by rolling waves, slowly washing away their path, making way for a new one. Traveling souls. That's what it was all really about. The universe had more than one road, more than one fate. It was up to them to make their own choice, to choose their own road. Their souls had connected while traveling this journey. With each other and maybe, she thought as she glanced over at Brennan's shadowed face, just maybe even with others…_

_…The firelight was low, crackling warmly when they returned to their family. Emma was sleeping in Jesse's arms, nose pushed into his shoulder, stirring slightly when Jesse lifted his head to smile, welcoming them back. She muttered something in her sleep, and he grinned, pressing a long kiss into her red hair, glowing like a sunburst in the reflected light. Adam had gone back to reading, smiling at them over the top of his book as they settled back down by the fire. Brennan sat down first, and Shalimar climbed into his lap, leaning back on his chest. As she settled against him, her weight brought with it a familiar warmth, and he pulled her a little closer. Her head fit snugly into the crock of his elbow, and he tenderly kissed her forehead as her eyes fell shut, sleeping in his arms. It wasn't before long that her eyes darted under her closed lids, her lips curving into a smile as she curled in more tightly against him. She was dreaming. The thought made him smile. They were back to where it had first started, that night when she had held him after his dream._

_Only this time, it was peaceful._

_Brennan tenderly kissed her forehead. "Dream in sunlight, Shal."_

_His whispered words touched her, and she smiled, hearing him even in sleep, knowing the moment he believed, heart and mind racing toward new possibilities. He lifted their twined fingers and pressed a kiss against her knuckles. They had undergone much on this journey of discovery together, only to learn their choice had already been made. It had been made long ago when something within one recognized the other. They were connected, and they shared the same road._

_Firelight winked and wind stirred, catching up long strands of her hair until it wrapped around them both in a golden halo. Light mists moved across the water, rippling the calm surface in a steady drone until Brennan fell asleep as well, forehead coming to rest against hers, moonlight bathing them in a gentle glow…_

Traveling On—Chapter One

Prelude:

California, 1986

He was falling.

That much registered in his brain as his body thrashed in panic, cold wind whistling against his back, the oversized sweater bunching up under his arms to reveal a long, thin chest not yet developed, but hinting at future strength.

It was a short fall, the cement rushing up and slamming into his skinny back before coherent thought remembered where he was. He lay still a moment, the wind knocked out of him, already feeling the throbbing of painful bruises.

None of them compared to the ringing in his ears as the furious face of his mother bent over him, hurtling an angry lecture at him.

He winced, pushing himself into a sitting position, yanking the edge of his sweater back down to his waist. He had almost done it that time. Just a few more sparks and he would have gotten it started…

"And just what do you think you were you planning to do with that thing!" His mother gestured to the shiny car up on display on the raised platform, gripping his bony shoulder with tight fingers as she shoved her face close to his. He stared morosely at the ground. "I will not have my son become a thief--"

He glanced up sharply as her voice dropped abruptly, hot guilt coursing through him at the fear and grief twisting her face as she struggled for control.

She was crying.

He kicked at a clump of weeds sprouting through a crack in the sidewalk as his friends gawked nearby.

"What am I going to do with you?" She whispered in defeat, releasing her grip on him suddenly, turning away.

She looked old, frail, as she slowly walked away from him, shoulders slumped, and a new fear struck him. "Wait—Ma—I'm sorry!" He ran after her, stumbling in his haste, heart pounding when for a moment it looked like she wasn't going to stop. But she did, and uncaring of any audience, he wrapped shaking arms around her thin waist, pressing his nose into her stomach, startled to find his arms easily reached all the way around her now. She had lost so much weight recently. Too much. "I'm sorry."

He was short, the top of his head barely reaching her chest, but she knew if he was anything like his father, he would be shooting up tall in no time. She sighed, brushing a strand of unruly dark hair off his lean forehead. His father. She blinked her eyes rapidly at the still painful memory, and of others lost to them. Her arms tightened around her son.

He was all she had left.

God help her, the next thought scared her even more.

She was all he had left.

She swallowed bitterly at the tears clogging her throat, at the unfairness of it all, that his biggest fear was being left alone, and that she was powerless to prevent it from happening, and that she might not be able to raise him properly in the time she had left. She reached up, ripping a chain from around her neck, releasing her hold on her son, kneeling down beside him instead.

"Here, baby."

"Ma," He squirmed in embarrassment at his mother's words, ears turning pink at the tittering laughter behind him, knowing the bigger boys had heard, barely noticing as she clasped a light chain around his neck. "Can I go play now?" He asked impatiently as she straightening the pendant, dropping it under the thickness of his sweater. His eyes darted anxiously towards the gang of boys still watching.

"Yeah." She stood back up, arms achingly empty as her son darted down the sidewalk. "But you stay away from that car or so help me---"

He waved back, disappearing in the swell of boys surrounding him, closing him off from her view.

A silent sob wracked her frail body, and she turned away from the sight, afraid her son was already lost to her.

He barely heard the voice of his friends as they crowded around him, the cold chain hanging heavy on his thin neck, the pendant pounding against his heart as he ran…

Sanctuary, Present Day

Brennan's head jerked upward in sudden awareness, wincing as skin pulled and popped, sticky with sweat where their foreheads had been pressed together in the warmth of the fire. He grimaced, rubbed at his temple with one hand as his muscles protested next, having grown stiff from his awkward slumped position. His other arm was completely numb from where Shalimar lay limp and heavy against him. He blinked sleepily, memory groggily returning. They were still on the beach below Sanctuary. He had been dreaming again. He hadn't had that dream about that particular childhood memory for a long time, and he wasn't sure what brought it on now.

He squinted, scrubbing a hand across his face, pausing after a moment to hold it out in front of him.

He couldn't see it.

It was pitch dark.

He turned his eyes towards where he thought the fire might be. Warmth still radiated in the air around him, but even the embers had lost their glow sometime while they slept. It might have been hours or it might have been minutes, he wasn't even sure.

"Brennan."

He recognized Jesse's whispered voice in the darkness. "Yeah?"

"Just checking to see if that was you."

Brennan chuckled. "Who else would I be?" He sensed Jesse's wry face in the darkness.

"What time do you think it is?"

"I don't know." Brennan shifted Shalimar's head to his other shoulder, rotating his numb arm, feeling the telltale tingles prickling their way up and down his skin.

"Jesse?" Emma's voice came out of the shadows next.

"Right here, babe."

Brennan listened to their murmuring voices as he flexed his fingers, aiming a short blast towards the fire. A new spark fizzled and died.

Emma laughed shortly, reaching over to place a few new sticks into the blackened ring. "Try again."

"That would have been helpful a few minutes ago." Brennan ignored Emma's look as he sent another well-aimed blast and this time small flames roared to life. He smiled, arm dropping back around Shalimar as she instinctively pressed back against him, away from the fire. Her fingers curled reflexively into his shirt, and closed his hand around hers.

"Adam's gone." Emma straightened up in sudden awareness. She tilted her head, concentrating, lips spreading into a wide smile after a moment.

"Emma?"

"He's sound asleep in his bed, having a good dream too."

Jesse grinned. "Guess the thought of a comfortable mattress was more alluring than a dying campfire."

Normally Brennan couldn't have agreed more, but just this once, with Shalimar curled pliant and soft against his chest and the flickering warmth of the fire against his back, he was content right where he was. The wind blew, and the crash of the surf against the shore brought a waft of sea salt and evening primrose. They fell back into silence, the sound of their relaxed breathing mingling with the light rustling of nearby trees. The fire popped, and it was loud in the night.

"We should go swimming." Emma's voice finally broke the silence.

"Now?" Jesse glanced down at her, eyebrows askance.

"Yeah, haven't you ever gone swimming at night? It's exhilarating. We used to go all the time when I was a kid."

"I thought you hated camping, all that fuss a few days ago to Adam about sleeping on the trail."

"Not necessarily." Her voice had taken on a sultry tone.

Jesse swallowed hard.

Brennan half-dozed, listening to their voices, battling between the tempting idea of never moving again and visions of Shalimar's creamy wet skin reflecting in the moonlight. Beneath his warm palm, Shalimar's fingers spread open. His fingers slid naturally between hers, distracting his train of thought, marveling at the soft warmth of her skin. It took him a moment to realize her thumb had begun to rub lightly back and forth, teasing the sensitive underside of his hand, and his muscles tensed in awareness, heat coursing through him at the simple touch. Her fingers gave a gentle answering squeeze, and he quickly cleared his throat. It took him another second to realize Jesse and Emma had stopped talking, turned toward him in expectation.

"Why don't you guys go on, I'll just ah, stay here with Shal, no sense in disturbing her." He felt her smile against his chest and cleared his throat again, squirming slightly as Shalimar's other hand began to roam across his back.

"Alright." Jesse and Emma barely noticed, already starting toward the water. He could hear their footprints picking up speed and then a breathy squeal from Emma as they melted into the inky darkness.

He waited only a moment more to make sure they were really gone before turning his head down towards hers. Her head was tilted up, watching him. He saw the slight flare of her nostrils as she inhaled his scent, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt to steady herself as her heart rate began to pick up.

"Shal…" His own heart began to pound in return as he brought his hands up to gently cup her face. He had never seen anything so beautiful as the way she was looking up at him right at that moment, eyes luminous in the soft firelight. His knuckles brushed her cheek without any conscious effort, and then his lips followed, mouth meeting hers in a swirl of color and emotion. Her lips were bare and warm as he brushed his own back and forth against hers, the gentleness belaying the stirring hunger raging within. He had thought about kissing her so many times over the years, that he could scarcely believe he had the right to do so now. This was Shalimar, his Shalimar. He groaned, arms circling around her to pull her even closer yet. She deepened the kiss in response, until everything else disappeared except the taste and texture of their joined mouths.

Jesse stared over the dark water, conscious of Emma standing silently next to him. It looked inviting, cool, tempting. It looked beautiful.

He didn't have a suit on under his clothes like Emma did.

"Who said anything about suits?"

Startled, he glanced over at Emma.

She looked back.

A small smile tugged at his lips at the slight blush rising up her neck. "Skinny dipping?" He broke eye contact first, looking back at the water, dark as the trees. He could almost feel the cool water against his skin. "Alright." He turned his gaze back toward her, a hint of gleam in the moonlight. If you promise not to look."

She stifled a surprised laugh, fingers pressed against her lips. "I wouldn't have it any other way." She grinned at his expression, turning away from the lake and putting her back to him. Two could play at this game. "Don't be too long," She tossed back over her shoulder as he continued to stare at her. After a moment, he shrugged, pulling off his shirt. It dropped into the sand with a gentle plop. His hands fell to his buckle next, checking to see if Emma was looking.

She was staring.

He fought to keep a straight face. "Hey, don't peek."

"I'm not." She whirled back around.

He laughed outright this time, quickly shedding his clothing and wading into the water until it was well above his waist. He turned back to face the shore, wading lazily. The moon had risen a little higher, casting a silver path across the black water in front of him. "Your turn," He called to the waiting psionic, watching as she quickly stripped down to her swimsuit.

"You forgot something," He called as she started toward the water.

Emma stopped on the shore, one brow playfully raised. "You didn't turn around."

"I never promised."

Her hands landed on her hips. "Jesse Kilmartin…"

He grinned in reply.

Shalimar relaxed back against a log and stared at the campfire. It was a cool evening, but not enough so they had needed to light the fire. But it made the campsite cozy and was small enough that she didn't fear it. She glanced up as Brennan sank back down beside her, a small brown package in his hand.

"Are Jesse and Emma still swimming?" He asked, ignoring her silent inquiry to the brown bag in his hands.

She turned her head slightly in a gesture that he recognized meant she was listening. She nodded after a brief moment. "Yeah, I hear water."

He automatically started to turn his head in the direction of the dark water, but a sharp intake of breath from Shalimar brought his head back around. "Shal?" She shook her head at his questioning look, but faint red stained her cheeks. _Interesting._ His lips curled into a slight understanding smirk, brows rising as he again turned an appraising look back in the direction of the water.

THUNK.

Something struck his head.

"Don't even think about it." Shalimar's soft laugh rolled in his ears as she smoothed her fingers through his hair, soothing the spot she had just playfully smacked.

He pouted, rubbing his head.

"What did you bring?" She gestured at the bag, turning his attention back to whatever he had brought back from the cooler.

"A surprise." He brightened, waving the bag triumphantly. "I remembered how you once said they were your favorite."

"What is it?" She grinned as his chest swelled proudly, pretending she couldn't already smell what waited inside, watching as he pulled out marshmallows and a slightly melted chocolate bar. Even though she had known, her throat still choked up with sudden emotion. "I can't believe you remembered."

"Of course I did." He paused, about to toss over a package of graham crackers. Their eyes met with a rush of warmth. "I couldn't believe it when I saw Adam even had the right kind of chocolate in stock…" His voice trailed away, remembering how she had been insistent that only Hershey bars, the plain kind, would do when she had told him about how to make them earlier that year. She had been hurt, badly clawed by another wild feral, and they had been stuck alone in the woods. He could still taste the fear in his mouth as she'd clung to him as they ran, gasping something to him about going camping again on a better day and making something called S'mores.

She kissed him, catching him unaware. "Brennan," she whispered his name a scant quarter inch from his lips when she finally pulled back, at a loss for words.

She felt a smile lift the edges of his mouth. "I know, I'm good."

She chuffed a tender laugh against his lips, breathing him in.

Both their eyes closed as he began to do the same to her, nuzzling her nose softly, inhaling, taking in each little breath that puffed out of her parted mouth. It was so intimate, breathing her in this way. He imagined it was the feral in him, learning from the feral in her. He caressed her cheek with his nose one last time, and then she closed the small space between them, covering his lips gently with hers. He rose up to his knees, crackers tumbling out of his lap as he framed her face, bringing her mouth back to his for another deep kiss. He lost track of all sense of time and space. There was only her, and only him, and the endless melting of mouths and souls as they finally showed each other all they meant to one another. Of their own accord, his fingers found their way to the straps tied around her neck, holding her swimsuit up beneath the baggy sweatshirt she wore over it. He gave a tug, feeling the strings loosen beneath his fingers, bringing her closer for another kiss when she started to pull back, hands wandering down her sides. He finally broke the kiss when he felt her shiver and say his name, and leaned his forehead against hers, breathing heavy. He knew the words even without giving them voice. _Later._ He had almost forgotten they still weren't entirely alone here. After a moment, she wrapped her arms around him to pull him fully against her in a hug. His fingers found the sliding strings, retying them before backing away a few inches. He ran a hand across his face, looking at her like she had bewitched him.

One corner of her mouth quirked up in understanding.

The feeling was mutual.

He leaned toward her once more, giving her a brief, but sweet kiss. She tasted the resignation in him, trailing her hands down his still heaving chest. She had had no idea how true her whispered words to Emma a few days ago had been when they had exchanged longing giggles while watching the guys packing up the tents.

This _was_ going to be so good.

She watched Brennan's profile lighted up in the glow of the fire as he settled back down, opening the package of marshmallows and spearing a couple on a stick. "Roast them over the coals, not the flames," She cautioned as he thrust the stick toward the fire. He threw her a smile, turning his concentration back onto the melting marshmallow. It was already starting to turn brown, the edges dripping and spattering into the fire. She smiled as she watched him, getting the graham crackers and chocolate ready for him. His hair, sticking straight up from the humidity, made him look boyish. It hit her how cozy a moment this felt, preparing food quietly together, the soft sounds and smells of home surrounding them. She closed her eyes for a moment just taking it all in, allowing the emotions inside her to swell.

She ached for this. For him.

She smiled again as he turned towards her, head bent in studied concentration as he carefully pushed the melted marshmallow off the stick and onto the waiting graham cracker. He broke off a chunk of the chocolate bar, squishing it down into the melted whiteness and before balancing another cracker on top. She reached over, brushing his hair off his forehead with a tender hand as he looked up at her in delight, holding out his creation.

"Taste it." She encouraged him to try it first, laughing as his eyes rolled back in disbelief at the first gooey bite.

Oh yeah.

So good.

They glanced back up as Jesse and Emma came staggering back from the beach, dripping wet, but smiling widely. Brennan's mouth popped open, but Shalimar had already seen the glint in his eye and shoved her elbow into his side before he could get a word out. His mouth snapped shut with an audible click. She wasted no time making more treats and handed one over to Jesse, whose eyes lit up in appreciation.

"Thanks, Shal." He mumbled around a mouthful of chocolaty goo.

She handed one over to Emma next, brow raised in that code only another woman could understand. _We definitely need to talk._

Emma grinned back with a quick nod before taking a hungry bite of her own.

The fire crackled merrily, the smell of chocolate strong on the air. Shalimar settled back down, licking her sticky fingers, smiling at Brennan as his eyes dropped predictably to her mouth. He gave her a slow wink, fingers catching hers and tugging her closer, pressing a kiss to her wind-tossed hair as she tumbled into his lap, arms wrapping around her in gentle comfort.

Finally, reluctantly, they called it a night, pushing sand onto the dying fire to distinguish the last of the flames, gathering up wet towels and supplies with tired yawns, padding barefoot through the cool sand back towards the bright warmth of Sanctuary, voices and laughter growing softer until only the rolling waves could be heard in the quiet night. Faint wisps of smoke from the cooling firepit rose silently into the air, the smell still carrying faintly on the breeze. There was a call of a gull, the hiss of rolling water, then the gentle lapping of wave against sand.

Left alone, there was no one around to notice as their footprints in the sand were slowly, doggedly, being washed away, one by one, until no trace of their presence remained.

And then there was only the sand, stretching smoothly in all directions.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer—See Chapter One

A/N: I'm posting a little early this week since I'll be out of town this weekend. I can't thank you all enough for your encouragement! I was so afraid there wouldn't be much interest since it had been a while since the last story ended. I'm so sorry again for the time it's taken me to get this story posted and that I'm not able to update more than once a week. Life is too crazy sometimes! But thank you so much to Marie Crosby, melodie568, blackpanther2288, AussieMXfan, Rain, kiki-0400, Aurore-e, Tunder28, Rachel, Anne, MariShal, Mayra, and Courtney; thank you! Susie Harvey, your review touched me so much, thank you! Adele, just got your review right as I was uploading this chapter, thank you! Thank you also to my wonderful betas, I don't know what I would do without you! This chapter is a little longer, although it feels short for some reason. I think because most of the length is more in the detail than the events. Ah well! I hope you enjoy! Thank you!

Traveling On—Chapter Two

In the dimness of early morning, something awoke Brennan from a deep, dreamless sleep. One eye begrudgingly squinted open to look at the clock.

Just barely after four o'clock in the morning.

He groaned, eye grumpily slamming shut, waiting for the lull of sleep to carry him back to oblivion.

But sleep would not come.

Finally, desperately, he rolled restlessly over, kicking at sheets that tangled around his legs, suddenly hot despite the well-regulated temperature inside their mountain home. His arm flung instinctively out, seeking comfort from the warmth of the woman he knew would be curled beside him. Only a few nights sleeping together and already he couldn't imagine going back to what life had been like before. _Before_, that's how he thought of it in his mind. _Before and after_. Life before Shalimar and now life after, life with Shalimar. He grinned sleepily, desire stirring deep within despite his weariness and despite the early hour. They had been so tired when they came in from the beach a few hours ago, collapsing onto the bed and immediately falling asleep without a word. He had barely gotten his arm around her before his eyes had drifted shut. _But now…_

His arm hit an empty mattress.

"Shal?" He sat up, scratching his chest, kicking off the blankets, grimacing when he realized fine sand had caked and dried on his skin. They had been too tired to shower, too tired to care or notice the sandy grit between their toes or the itchiness of dried salt water.

He was still too tired.

He groaned again, moodily flopping back down on the mattress, blowing out his breath. "Shal? He called petulantly again, fingering the cool metal of his comring. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if she had gone out hunting, frowning invariably at the thought. Still lingering in the magical mood of the beach, he wasn't ready for the possibility of that reality to kick in.

The ring stayed turned off.

"Where are you, Shalimar?" He kicked restlessly at the tangled sheets, freezing at the faint, answering moan.

It was so soft, so agonized, he almost missed it. "Shalimar?" He sat up straight, noticing for the first time the faint light fanning out from under the bathroom door. He leapt from the bed, stumbling over the bedding in his haste. He tripped, catching himself on a nearby dresser, hurrying toward the bathroom only to hesitate at the closed door, fingers pausing on the door knob. They had yet to cross this part of their relationship. "Shal?" He knocked lightly, unsure. "Are you ok?"

There was a pause, a hitch of breath, before she tiredly answered. "Go away, Brennan."

"But Shal—"

"I'm fine, just--just go--"

He couldn't ignore the fringe of panic in her tone, the unmistakable sound of retching as her voice broke off abruptly. He shook his head, determinedly pushing open the door, conveniently ignoring her growl of protest as she clung weakly to the edge of the toilet, head hanging low.

He clicked his tongue in dismay, crossing towards her.

"I'm fine," She insisted again, struggling to stand, moaning as the effort only brought on a new wave of dizziness. She was embarrassed, sinking back to her knees, only having the strength to rest her cheek on the edge of the bowl, knowing there was nothing she could do as he wet a washcloth and knelt down beside her on the cold floor.

"Let me help you," He gently chided, carefully lifting her head and keeping it away from the toilet. He brushed her hair away from her clammy face, wiping the tears from her red cheeks. "You're sick."

She snorted at his obvious statement, eyes closing for a brief moment as she caught a whiff of the pungent smell in the small bathroom. Her stomach clenched, and she turned her face away, humiliated, horrified. There was silence for a moment, and then a wave of rising panic as she weakly struggled against him. "Brennan," Her voice suddenly rose, pushing at him as she felt it coming up again. But he wouldn't let her go, wouldn't leave, and she struggled, trying to decide which was worse, him seeing her like this or being alone to suffer. The decision was made for her. His hands were gentle on her heaving back, the washcloth mercifully cool as he lifted her hair, pressing it to the back of her neck. Finally, spent, she pushed away from the toilet, leaving the warmth of his arms and curling into a ball on the floor.

He threaded his fingers through her tangled hair, pushing it behind her ear, running his hand down the back of her head to her shoulder in a soothing gesture. "Let's get you to the lab, call Adam." He made to lift her, pausing as she cried out, curling tighter in upon herself at the newest wave of nausea, tears dripping in a frustrated slide down her cheeks. She sniffed, and his heart broke, knowing she hated showing weakness. He crawled beside her, leaning against the wall and stretching his long legs out in front of him, careful not to jostle her as he pulled her against his chest. She stiffened for a moment before giving up, sinking against him with a strangled groan of protest, fingers clutching the thick cotton of his shirt.

"That's my stubborn feral," He whispered with a smile, lips pressing against her flushed temple.

She was too spent to resist, settling on a faint glare instead.

He chuckled into her hair, smelling the pain and sweat mingling with the salty scent of ocean still clinging to her skin. He kissed her again, running his hand in slow, gentle circles up and down her back. She felt so tiny, huddled miserably against him. She shivered occasionally despite the heat rolling off her, silent shudders that ripped through her frame, and he tightened his arms around her.

They sat in silence for a long time, Brennan slowly becoming aware of the coldness of the tile seeping through his pants, of the chilliness of the early morning air. He wondered what time it was, how long they had sat there. The bed was visible through the open door of the bathroom, and he looked longingly at its warmth and softness. "Hey, Shal," He roused her gently, watching her fever-dulled eyes with concern as they fluttered open with obvious effort. "We should get you into bed," He prompted, nodding through the open doorway, muscles tensing as he gathered her more firmly in his arms. "I can get Adam—"

"Ughhhh," She moaned lowly at the movement, suddenly scrambling on her hands and knees back across the short distance to the toilet, barely making it before the heaves started once more.  
"Or not," He conceded, rising to his feet to rinse out the washcloth in the sink, kneeling behind her to hold back her hair as she shook violently. She didn't bother to struggle against his arms this time, welcoming their strength as he wrapped them around her from behind, pulling her into his chest when she finished, settling them both on the floor as he leaned against the tiled wall, lightly running the cool washcloth across her flushed skin. She was so hot. Sweat beaded along her hairline, eyes rolling as her head flopped wearily against his shoulder. He could hear the breath coming out of her in short pants, and the sound scared him. "I think I should call Adam."

"No," She worried her lower lip between her teeth, finding the strength to shake her head. "He's still weak from the mission; he hasn't rested since we got back."

"But Shal—"

"It's just some kind of flu, Brennan, there's no reason to disturb him when he can't do anything about it anyway."

He sighed, not liking it, but not wanting to distress her more. "Alright, but for the record, I don't like it."

"That's fine, protest all you want." She groaned, turning slightly in his arms so her cheek pressed against his chest, willing the nausea to go away, tentatively allowing her muscles to relax against him once more. "Just don't move."

He couldn't help it; he chuckled softly, hands settling loosely on her hair and waist. He was determined to stay awake, to help her through the rest of the night, but the next thing he knew, light flooded the room, and his head jerked up in confusion.

He had fallen asleep.

But so had Shalimar, curled into his side in an impossibly tight ball.

He blinked his eyes blearily, back stiff from his awkward position on the hard floor, sunburned and exhausted. But his mind could only focus on one thing as he stared urgently across the bathroom at the toilet.

He desperately had to go.

He winced as Shalimar roused beside him, shifting her weight and pressing against his abdomen.

His bladder screamed furiously in protest.

"Uh, Shal," He quickly adjusted her position, faintly registering her hot, dry skin in the back of his mind. She still had a fever. He should get her some juice, she was probably dehydrated. He groaned, muscles clenching as she shifted against him again.

"Brennan?" She murmured his name, looking around in bewilderment, flushing in embarrassment as remembrance crashed down upon her. She swallowed tightly, feeling the sweat between her shoulder blades, the sticky, fuzzy coating on her teeth, grimacing at how she must look. And the smell…_Oh god_, her eyes closed in embarrassment. So much for him finding her attractive. _Welcome to the real world_, she thought resignedly, pressing heavily against him once more.

There was a sharp intake of air, and then gentle shaking as Brennan pushed against her. "Umm, Shalimar…"

She felt the tinge of desperation in his voice and immediately misread him, staggering to her feet. The world spun crazily, and she clung madly to the sink, taking a few deep breaths. After a moment, she felt a little better and turned on the faucet, splashing cold water on her red face. She reached shakily for her toothbrush next, hand hovering uncertainly as she realized she was in Brennan's room. Her toothbrush was down the hall in her bathroom, and at the moment might as well have been a million miles away. She picked his up. Brennan grunted, and she flushed more, quickly drawing back her hand, the toothbrush clattering into the sink. Another wave of dizziness hit her, and she suddenly felt angry, bracing herself as she hunched over the sink. She was sick, damn it, she couldn't help it. She quickly rinsed out her mouth instead, wiping a hand across her trembling lips as she turned toward him, noticing for the first time that he wasn't even looking at her. Her brow raised in understanding, watching as he shifted from foot to foot, eyes locked on the toilet. _Ohhh_ She beat a hasty retreat, hearing the seat clang up against the tank as she collapsed into his bed.

This was going to take some getting used to.

Emma and Adam looked up simultaneously as Brennan dragged himself into the kitchen some time later. His hair was dripping wet, indicating a quick shower, and he smiled distractedly at them when he noticed them staring.

"You look terrible." Emma bluntly told him, corner of her mouth turned up.

"Good morning to you too," Brennan wryly threw back, digging through the fridge and finally pulling out two juice bottles. "Shalimar's sick," He briefly explained when he turned to find them still watching him. "Looks like some kind of flu bug, we were up most of the night."

"Shalimar's never sick," Emma's furrowed her brow, glancing at Adam.

"I'll check in on her." The older man nodded reassuringly. "I just ran scans on all of you yesterday, and she was clear." He glanced between the rest of his team. "How are the rest of you feeling?"

"Fine, Adam." Emma shook her head. "Jesse was fine this morning as well."

Brennan waved his hand as he guzzled one of the juice bottles. "Just tired."

"What are you thinking?" Emma watched Adam carefully, knowing his mind was already processing all the possibilities, knowing the moment something clicked. "Adam?"

"I won't know anything until I look at her, but I do believe she was the only one that ate the chicken last night."

"The rest of us had fish." Emma confirmed in understanding, turning to look pointedly at Brennan. "Food poisoning?"

"But _I _cooked that chick—" Brennan clamped his mouth shut as Emma's lips quirked again. "Don't you dare tell her."

Emma's eyes twinkled, leaning forward to maintain eye contact as Adam pushed away from the table, standing up. "You may want to disappear for a while, Brennan."

Adam laughed, slapping his hand on the other man's slumping shoulders as he passed him. "I think I can help you there."

"What?" Brennan trailed after him, still clutching one juice bottle in his hand.

"I actually do have an assignment for you this morning, Brennan." Adam led him to a nearby computer.

"Can't Jesse do it?" Brennan instantly protested. "I don't want to leave Shal right now."

"Jesse's working on a sensitive matter for me right now. I need his expertise elsewhere." Adam shook his head, raising his hand to cut off Brennan's next sentence. "And Emma's busy as well, and with Shalimar sick, that only leaves you. Anyway, I think this one will appeal to you." He paused to tap a few keys, turning Brennan's attention to a grainy picture of a dark-haired little boy. "This is Danny, a very promising psionic. His father has asked for our help putting him into the Underground."

"His father?" Instantly intrigued, Brennan studied the boy. "He doesn't look more than ten years old, why is his father giving him up?"

"Try nine years old." Adam's jaw flexed tightly at Brennan's look. "And I didn't say I agreed with it."

Brennan frowned, hesitating.

"I'll look after Shalimar," Adam overcame his last protest with ease, nodding in the direction of the garage. "You should get going."

"Fine," Brennan grumbled, turning his tired feet towards the garage, pausing to turn and toss the juice to Adam. "For Shalimar."

Adam smiled, deftly catching the bottle. "She'll be fine, Brennan."

Brennan waved over his shoulder, trotting down the hallway. The sooner he left, the sooner he would be back. Shalimar would probably be asleep for the next few hours anyway. If he hurried, he could be back before she woke up. Even though he knew she would be fine, he still wanted to be near her. They had been through so much recently, still healing from the injuries in their last mission. The scare of almost dying, of losing her was still fresh in his mind; all he wanted to do at the moment was be with her.

Shalimar stopped short as she came out of the bathroom, shoulders hunched as she clutched her stomach. "What are you guys doing here?" She couldn't maintain eye contact with Jesse and Emma as she saw them standing in the doorway, putting all her energy into putting one step in front of the other as she shuffled her way slowly back to the bed.

"Here, Shal."

She sighed gratefully as Jesse held out a hand, helping her back to the bed. He pulled back the covers as she sank exhausted into the downy softness, eyes closed as she fought the nausea, managing a brief smile to Jesse as he tucked the blankets back under her chin. His hand landed on her forehead for a moment, meeting Emma's gaze as she handed him a glass of water.

"Thanks," Shalimar murmured tiredly as Jesse helped her hold the glass up to her mouth. She was so thirsty. She protested when Jesse only allowed a tiny sip.

"Easy, Adam said only a tiny bit for now." Jesse patted her dry hand. "Any more and you might not be able to keep it down." He grinned sympathetically at her expression.

"I don't get why I'm the only one that caught this thing," Shalimar complained to the room at large, eyes closing again.

"I'll let Emma explain that one," Jesse's grin widened as he turned to leave. "I better get back to work, Adam's got me decoding some list that's been posted for sale on the black market."

"Have fun," Emma called after him as he disappeared out the door, plopping on the bed beside Shalimar, leaning against the headboard. She looked around Brennan's room with interest. She hadn't been in here much lately.

"Careful," Shalimar cautioned her. "You probably don't want to get too close to me right now."

"It's ok, Shal. Adam doesn't think you're contagious." She regretted the words as soon as they were out of her mouth.

"Why?" Shalimar's eyes had cracked open to stare at her suspiciously when she didn't immediately respond. "Emma?"

Despite his impatience, Brennan's heart melted at the fear and confusion on the small, round face that peered up at him, eyes owlishly large behind wire-rimmed glasses. "Hey, Danny," He knelt, holding out his hand to the little boy. The solemn eyes studied him for a long moment, quiet, and Brennan had the sensation of being examined. It passed quickly though, and he smiled when small fingers stretched toward his.

"It's ok, buddy, we've got you now. We'll take care of you." He babbled endlessly as he led the boy back to his car, holding the door open for him and buckling him in. "You're going to love where you're going, it's a great place." He paused to tousle the mop of dark hair before closing the door, crossing over to the driver's side and sliding in. Traffic was heavy, and he rapped his fingers against the steering wheel, groaning softly when the bright red of braking lights from the cars in front of them flashed again. He slammed his own brakes, reaching over to turn up the stereo when finally he ran out of things to say and still the little boy hadn't said a word, simply staring at him with those oversized eyes. Brennan's patience was stretched thin by the time they finally arrived at the Underground where Adam had arranged for him to hand off to the next contact. He had been gone for over three hours already, and Shalimar was probably awake by now. He threw the car in park, jumping out and helping Danny out of his seatbelt, leading him into the nondescript building. They hadn't used the old bookstore for a while now, and Brennan glanced around as he ducked out of the bright sun and inside the shop, eyes blinking to adjust to the dim light. He was glad to see their contact already waiting for them.

"Dave," He briefly shook hands with the burly Molecular who frequently helped them out with the underground and would take Danny to his foster family. Pudgy fingers interrupted, tugging questionably on his jacket, and he knelt down, resting his hands on the skinny shoulders. "Dave is going to take care of you now, ok?" He started to rise, but paused when he saw Danny's face. He knew that look, had seen it on his own face after his mother died. Brennan's gut twisted with deep anger that any father could give up his child. He dipped his head, making eye contact. "Hey, listen to me. You're not alone, ok?" He waited until the boy looked at him, cupping his cheek. "We'll take care of you, I promise." Large eyes again studied him, a flicker of relief and something else he couldn't quite read. Brennan gave the small shoulders another reassuring squeeze before standing back up, meeting the eyes of the large molecular as he knelt down to take over. "Thanks, man." He shook his hand again, tousling Danny's hair a final time, listening for a moment as Dave gave his own reassurances to the small boy. Knowing he was in good hands, Brennan ducked back out of the store, thoughts drifting back to Shalimar as he found himself stuck in traffic once more.

"He thought what?" Shalimar stared at Emma in disbelief, holding her stomach weakly. It hurt to laugh, but she couldn't help it, her chuckle mingling with Emma's. "Jesse has no idea how far from possible that could even be right now."

"Well," Emma shrugged teasingly, "Except for the fact that it's only been a few days since we've been back, I suppose it could have been a logical deduction, with your symptoms and all."

"Not really." Shalimar was still chuckling, hands spanning across her stomach at such a thought. "We haven't even slept together yet…not for Brennan's lack of trying." She added as an afterthought, grinning evilly at Emma, expecting a similar declaration from the psionic. "Emma?" Her voice rose knowingly when the redhead's cheeks stained red. "You and Jesse?"

Emma pursed her lips, refusing to answer directly, fighting the smile that threatened to split across her face.

"Honey, we have to talk." Shalimar tried to push herself into a sitting position.

"Now?" Emma glanced nervously at the door, knowing Adam had planned to stop by again soon. He had already come and gone once.

"I need something to take my mind off this," Shalimar gestured to her rolling stomach, huffing slightly. "Food poisoning."

"Go easy on him, Shal." Emma chuckled again as she remembered Brennan's face. Her smile faded slightly after a moment.

"Hey, what is it?"

Emma has to smile at Shalimar's question. The feral could instinctively pick up a change of mood as easily as any psionic. "It's nothing." She sighed, plucking at the tufted button on one of Brennan's pillows resting in her lap. "It's just…are you ever afraid?"

Shalimar knew immediately what Emma meant. "Constantly." She smiled faintly as Emma nodded her head. "Afraid it will change things, afraid it actually might not work out between us, afraid that it actually might." She groaned, rolling over onto her side so that she faced the redhead sitting cross-legged next to her. "I don't know if I could just go back to the way things were before."

"I know what you mean." Emma hugged the pillow to her chest, staring across the room. "I'm a psionic, and I still don't know what Jesse's thinking at times. It scares me."

Shalimar hesitated, rubbing her eyes. She hadn't shared much about her past, and she didn't want to project those feelings to Emma now. She bit her lip, twisting her ring between her fingers. "I made myself a promise years ago to never to live in fear again. But this—" She gestured helplessly around the room, "This is---"

"Different." Emma finished for her.

The two girls fell silent for a moment, lost in their own thoughts.

Emma finally cleared her throat. "But you know, I think we already decided to take that risk the moment we opened our hearts. I think it's a little too late now."

Shalimar nodded, remembering the feel of Brennan's kiss, the heat of his body pressed to hers. Having already a taste of what it felt to be with him, she knew she just couldn't pretend to be just his friend and teammate ever again. If things didn't work out between them, she knew she couldn't stay. Even the mere scent of him was enough to distract her, torture her. It was a huge risk, and the consequences were frightening. Family was everything to a feral, the drive for a mate the only thing stronger. It was that instinct that drove her now, that allowed her to explore her feelings for Brennan, confident that despite the risks, her choice was right. She loved him. And that made everything simple.

"I hear you," Emma agreed softly.

Shalimar blinked suddenly, realizing she had been broadcasting her thoughts unintentionally. She shook her head, slapping playfully at her friend, spots dancing before her eyes at the movement. She gritted her teeth, waiting for the dizzy feeling to pass. If she didn't move, it wasn't so bad. "So, about you and Jesse," She abruptly changed the subject, laughing again as Emma automatically turned red.

Brennan had never been so happy to be home, not even bothering to stop to report to Adam as he strolled back into Sanctuary, making a beeline to his bedroom. The room was dark, silent, when he pushed open the door, and he tiptoed in, slightly disappointed to see Shalimar was sound asleep. Even though he knew she needed the rest, he wanted to spend time with her. He sighed, backing out slowly, heading toward the kitchen. He hadn't eaten breakfast and now it was well past lunchtime, and he was starving. He waved at Jesse as he passed him, seeing the molecular was still glued to the computer terminal, absorbed in whatever work Adam had given him. He ate quickly, anxious to get back to Shalimar, afraid Adam might find something else for him to do instead. He slunk down the hallway, sneaking into the room without running into the older man. He grinned to himself, closing the door softly with his toe, arms loaded with a tray of food. He turned, starting when he saw Shalimar's eyes open and watching him.

"You're back," She greeted him in a gravelly voice.

He grinned foolishly. She was pink. Too pink. Bright fever spots stood out on her cheekbones, but he still thought it was better than the deathly white she had been earlier that morning. Her freckles from the previous day at the beach had stood out in stark contrast to the sickly paleness of her skin. Now, they almost disappeared in the ruddiness of her skin. Someone had helped her shower while he was gone; the tangled mess her hair had been was now smoothed down her back in damp, riotous curls. Fresh pajamas were visible where the clean sheets and blanket were folded across her chest. He had a flash of jealousy that someone else had helped her.

"It was Emma," She read his thoughts accurately. "I couldn't stand my own smell any longer."

He grinned, holding up the tray after a moment. "I thought you might be hungry."

"Ugh, no." She wrinkled her nose, turning away at the thought, scrunching back down on the bed. "I can't keep anything down."

"You've got to try, Shal."

"No, I can't keep anything down." The huddled lump did not move.

It struck him how tiny she looked in his bed, the sight arousing him. _Not now_, he lectured his traitorous thoughts as he crossed closer. He set the tray down on a dresser, picking up a steaming bowl. "Maybe some soup?"

A tremor and then a heavy pause. "It better not be chicken noodle."

He froze halfway to the bed. _She knew_. He dreaded to look, but couldn't stop his eyes from slowly lifting to hers. He shifted his feet. "Ah, Shal—"

She was watching him knowingly, frowning slightly, suddenly not in the mood. "Not now, Brennan."

He recognized the weariness in her tone, crossing the rest of the way over. The bed dipped under his weight, and she gingerly pushed back up into a sitting position as he offered her the soup. "It's just broth, no chicken." He couldn't quite meet her eyes.

She ignored the soup, lifted a hand, resting it on his cheek. "I missed you," she finally whispered, letting him see she really wasn't angry with him.

"I got back as fast as I could," He whispered back. "I think I broke a few speed limits the last few miles," He confessed with a twinkle.

She grinned, tracing the outline of his mouth with her finger, hand falling limply back to her lap when Brennan gently nudged her arm with the bowl he still held. "I don't think it's a good idea, Brennan. My stomach doesn't want it."

"Just a few mouthfuls." He guided the bowl up to her lips. "I'm worried about you."

She dutifully took a small sip, and then another when he smiled at her in relief.

"There, you see?" He turned to set the bowl down on the nightstand. "That will make you feel better."

In answer, she lurched sideways out of the bed and fell to her hands and knees, scrambling into the bathroom, retching and gagging.

"I'm sorry, Shal." Brennan was instantly there, smoothing the hair back from her face, guilt assaulting him. He had screwed up again. "This is all my fault."

"No," She gasped stubbornly, protectively, "It's not."

He swallowed, throat tight as he lifted her and carried her back to the bed. She was quiet as he got a cloth and cleaned her face. "I'm sorry," He whispered again as he pulled off his shirt and slipped into bed behind her, pulling her into his arms, curving his body around hers.

"It's ok, Brennan," She mumbled in reply, burying her face into his warm skin. She needed this, needed him, as much as she needed to breathe. She took a deep breath, relaxing as the dizziness began to fade.

It was blissfully quiet for a moment.

"I can't believe I poisoned you."

Her shoulders shook at his woeful assessment. "Idiot," She said affectionately.

The proprietary tone was new. He wasn't just an idiot. He was her idiot. He tenderly kissed the top of her head, feeling her fingers slide into his with a gentle squeeze. He squeezed back, and even when she drifted into sleep, body heavy and lax against him, he hung on, refusing to let go.

The broth sat on the dresser, forgotten, its spicy fragrance lingering in the air long after it grew cold and congealed, and as the afternoon light slated across the room, it wafted silently over their forms as they slept on; unaware.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer—See Chapter One

A/N: I'm so sorry yet again for the slower posting! These stories take several months to write, so it was either post it as I'm writing it or wait a long time and then post it faster once it's finished. So I hope I can start posting more often once I get further along in the story. I'm currently in the middle of chapter six, so am just slightly ahead of what I am posting. Thank you so much to those of you still here with me! I cannot thank you enough for your encouragement! Stephanie, I'm a huge B/S fan, so while I do love to torture them a bit, just remember that I love happy endings. :) Thank you! Blackpanther, you've been there with me for every story, I can't thank you enough! I'm doing my best to add more J/E for you, so hopefully more will be coming soon! Susie, your encouragement again means so much to me, thank you! There will be some trouble coming up ahead, but bear with me. I don't want to say too much, but I do have plans for Alex as well! Rain, I love your guesses! You always keep me on my toes. Thank you! Christina, thank you so much! I'm so glad to know you're enjoying it. Mayra, thank you! I'm trying my best to keep these guys alive a little bit longer. :) Courtney, MariShal, Marie Crosby, ShalFan, thank you so much for your comments! They bring a smile to my face. CatJerica, glad you noticed the "later," lol, I wanted to have a little more fun with that one. I'll try to add more girl talk for you as well! Here's another chapter for you all, I hope you enjoy!

Traveling On—Chapter Three

She watched him.

In the early morning light, he lay beside her, and she couldn't get enough of him. Brennan stirred slightly, and she feared he would awake, hoping for a few more minutes. She wanted a few more minutes to just look at him.

Long lashes rested against tanned skin, flickering occasionally as eyes darted in sleep. She ran her hand lightly against his cheek, wondering what he dreamt about. He looked so young when he slept, stress lines eased into boyish innocence. They had all lost too much of their innocence, seeing more than their share of the darkness in the world. It was that awareness that made her cling all the more tightly to this moment, to the silencing of the abyss that always threatened them.

Even now.

_No_, she shook her head in determination.

Not now.

She yawned, stretching cautiously, pleased that her deep bruises were almost healed, that the sickness that had assaulted her the past few days had finally subsided. Her stomach growled, and the sound made her smile. For the first time in two days, she was hungry, but she didn't move, propping her head up with her hand as she continued to watch him.

He stirred again, eyes opening slightly, squinting in the morning light. He smiled, eyes closing again as he gathered the energy to move. "Hey," He whispered, voice heavy with sleep.

She didn't answer, but smiled back at him as he rolled onto his side to face her, propping himself up on one elbow in mimic of her position.

"How're you feeling?"

"Better." Her stomach growled again, bringing a wide grin to both their faces.

"I'm glad." Brennan reached across the space between them, brushing his hand down her arm in a warm sweep before coming to rest on her hip. He shifted his body, closing the gap between them. "How long have you been awake?"

"Not long," She looked him over as his eyes drifted closed again. The blankets had shifted when he turned, dropping to his waist, and she couldn't help but admire his bare chest, the way his muscles tucked into the narrow line of his hip, tempting her eyes lower.

This time he sensed her gaze, cracking one eye open. "Can't sleep?" If he hadn't been so tired, he wouldn't have missed the faint blush on her cheeks as she hastily looked back up into his face.

It took a moment for his question to register. "Not really." She sighed when he drew the covers back up, inadvertently taking away her view.

"Roll over."

That got her attention. She arched an eyebrow.

Brennan grinned. "Trust me."

She threw him another questioning glance, but did as he asked, lying down on her stomach.

"My mom used to do this for me when I couldn't sleep." Brennan explained, pressing a kiss to the tip of her ear as he sat up beside her. He put a gentle hand on her back, just below her shoulder blades, moving it in slow circles up and down her spine.

"You don't talk about your mom very much," Shalimar gently commented, relaxing at his touch, letting her head sink heavy into the downy pillow.

"Yeah, it's—it's hard sometimes, you know?" Brennan didn't elaborate. He had been dreaming of his mother lately, of the time before her death. He remembered the pendant she had given him, and bit his lip, wondering what Shalimar's reaction would be if he gave it to her, if she would understand the implications of the love that it represented. He had never thought about giving it to anyone else before.

"Yeah." Shalimar sighed into her pillow. There was a lot about her own childhood she hadn't shared either. It was hard to talk about, to think about. She pushed the thought aside, concentrating instead on the moment. His touch sent chills through her body, and she eventually relaxed, eyes fluttering shut, sighing softly, arms hugging her pillow.

They were silent for long moments, his hands soothing her, until she almost slept beneath his touch.

"Do you remember the first time I did this?" His voice rumbled low in her ear as his hands eventually pressed a little harder, traveling lower down her back until lingering just above the edge of her shirt. She nodded silently, remembering. He had been so tentative out in the woods, fingers kneading her neck, testing and exploring. He kissed her again, and she could feel his smile. "I had wanted to touch you for so long."

She felt him pull her shirt up a little as his hand slipped up beneath the fabric. The sensation on her bare skin made her shiver again, chasing away any desire for sleep. "No one's stopping you now."

"No." His soft laugh was dark and rich, body shifting to lie back down beside her. His hand followed her as she turned to face him, fingers teasing the sensitive skin of her stomach.

They stared at each other for a moment, waiting for the other to make a move, waiting for something to interrupt them.

But nothing happened.

Shalimar allowed one corner of her mouth to tilt up in a smile. Brennan leaned slightly towards her as he quirked a brow, raising his hand to brush her hair back before bringing his mouth to hers in a slow kiss. She whimpered lowly when too soon he pulled away.

"Brennan?"

He shook his head, finger on her lip and she fell silent, holding her breath, listening.

They lay in silence, again waiting.

"Just checking." His half smile turned into a full fledged grin, and her heart beating triple time when she realized he was teasing her.

Amber brown eyes rose languidly to meet chocolate brown, catching his hand as it fell away from her lips, turning hers until their palms were touching. His eyes darkened, fingers flexing to capture hers between his so that their hands were touching at every available inch of skin, thumb caressing the back of her hand. He tilted his head to speak again, and she suddenly found herself fascinated with his lips.

When Brennan realized she hadn't heard a word he said, he smiled. She smiled in return, gaze shooting to his, eyes beginning to sparkle in shared understanding.

He leaned closer, and she inhaled the heady scent of him as his fingers began to move again, tenderly releasing hers and moving back to tuck a tendril of hair behind her ear. He circled her lips, dropping to squeeze her shoulder before slipping an index finger under the strap of her cotton camisole. She lay still as he lightly ran his finger down along the inside path of the fabric in a slow, sensual caress. He didn't even realize he'd been holding his breath until she pushed forward, catching his lips. He groaned, pulling her closer as her arms snaked up his chest and around his neck. The kiss quickly segued into something deeper, kissing as they had always wanted to kiss. Slowly. With passion. His hands slid back under her shirt, pushing it up slightly as he stroked her back. The feel of skin on skin contact again stole her breath, and she rolled on top of him as his palms slowly smoothed up her sides.

"Are you here, Shal?" His hands paused as he whispered, breaking the kiss to pull back and study her.

"Yeah." She smiled tenderly at his concern, and he reached up, threading his hands through her hair to better see her face. He could see the shimmering of her eyes, her expression one he was quickly learning to associate with a declaration of love. He brought his lips back to hers in an exquisite kiss, wordlessly telling her of his own love. She dug her fingers into his shoulder blades as he rolled them again, sliding down her body as he dropped his lips to her neck.

It was soft, almost unnoticeable at first, first one, than the other, but the persistent chirp of both their comlinks going off at once brought them to a halt. Shalimar felt Brennan's huff of disbelief against her skin, writhing in frustration as his lips left her neck, cold air rushing against her heated skin as he rolled off her.

"Brennan, Shalimar." Adam's voice called for them before either could speak. "I need to see both of you immediately."

"How does he always know—" Brennan's growl was loud in the ensuring silence. "It's like he has radar tuned into prevent any sex in Sanctuary."

_For some of us anyway._ Her lips twisted wryly in frustrated humor.

Brennan glowered even more when he saw her smile. "It's not funny, Shal."

Her over-sensitized skin burned as he left the bed, and she watched him walk gingerly toward the bathroom. She flopped spread-eagle back onto the bed as he quietly closed the door, listening to the spray of water as it turned on full force.

Suddenly it didn't seem so funny to her either.

"Maybe you should try calling them again." Jesse rapped his fingers impatiently against the metal of the table where he sat, chin propped with one hand.

Emma watched his long fingers as they drummed rapidly, the sound loud in the quiet of the lab. She reached over after a moment to still them. There was a lot of impatient energy in the air this morning, and it was beginning to take its strain. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

Adam didn't answer, engrossed in his computer, and Jesse pushed off the table, spinning in his chair. "Adam?"

"They're coming, Jess." Emma spoke softly. "They're not too happy about being interrupted."

"Interrupted…oh." A look of pained understanding flashed across his face. He glanced over at Adam, lowering his voice. "You can feel that?" He turned his hand under hers, twining their fingers. "You know that they—"

"Not usually." Emma dropped her eyes. "I've worked hard to build blocks for intense emotions, but sometimes…" She shrugged, eyes searching a random spot across the room. "Sometimes—"

"They get through anyway." Jesse finished for her as she nodded. "I'm sorry, Emma."

She shrugged again. "I know then that I have to build higher walls."

Jesse watched her face for a moment, knowing there was more than she was revealing. "That's got to be a hard way to live," He prompted when she stayed silent.

"Yeah, sometimes."

Jesse waited for her to elaborate, but her eyes were locked on Adam, a small frown playing around her lips.

"Emma?" Jesse tugged on her fingers.

"Here they come," She raised her voice, turning her chair toward the door.

He let her change the subject, watching as Shalimar crossed into the room, leaning against a med bed by Adam. Jesse couldn't help but wince sympathetically as Brennan hovered in the doorway, leaning moodily against the frame, arms crossed. They were all too quickly learning that having a relationship within Sanctuary was not an easy thing even at the best of times. He gave Emma's fingers an unobtrusive squeeze before releasing them.

"Adam." Brennan cleared his throat to get his attention.

"Ah, good, you're all here." Adam glanced up distractedly from his computer, "How are you feeling, Shalimar?"

"Back to normal." She flashed him a grin.

"Good." He looked pleased at her words.

"What's up, Adam?" Jesse prompted after a moment, reminding him why they were all there.

"We've got some follow-up work on one of our missions."

"Is it Danny?" Brennan straightened up slightly from the door, showing interest for the first time.

"No," Adam glanced over his shoulder at the tall elemental, "Although I would like you to follow up later with Dave to make sure everything went smoothly."

"Danny?" Shalimar look confused.

"The little boy we put underground; he was basically abandoned by his father." Although Brennan's words were low, quickly filling Shalimar in, his face hardened in remembrance at the thought of what the little boy had to go through. He leaned back against the door frame.

Shalimar's own jaw clenched in understanding, looking away in painful reminder. It was the second time recently she had thought about her own childhood abandonment, and knew she had a lot more in common with the boy than any of them knew about. She shook her head as Adam paused, looking at her in concern. She forced a smile, and he nodded in return, turning back around to his computer.

"This one is actually related to what Jesse's been working on." Adam glanced over at the younger man. "I've received word that something big is being sold on the black market. Jesse's been trying to decode it, but unfortunately the sellers are moving before we've been able to determine what it is."

"So what's our interest in this?" Shalimar peered over Adam's shoulder at his computer.

"Well, I can't say exactly," Adam's face was inscrutable. "But I do know that Eckhart is also interested, which makes us as well."

"Eckhart?" Brennan straightened up again. "Do you think Alex could be involved as well?" His brother had left a few days ago in search of their nemesis and hadn't been heard from since.

"Not that I know of," Adam glanced over at the elemental. "But I'm sure he will contact us if he needs help."

"Yeah," Brennan shoved his hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched slightly. "So what's the plan?"

"I want us to pose as buyers. The game is simple; whoever makes the highest bid, wins."

"Something tells me that will be us." Jesse rubbed his hands together with a grin.

"You got it." Adam nodded at him. "Jesse, I want you to make the offer. Emma, Shalimar, Brennan, you will be watching from a discreet distance." He looked around the room at each of them. "Eckhart hasn't shown this much movement in a long time. It is important that we get whatever is being sold." He paused, deliberately making eye contact with each of them. "In light of what just happened the last time we went after the same thing Eckhart wanted, I suggest you all be on high alert."

The team nodded, anticipation rising as they got to their feet, recognizing the end of the meeting. They exchanged grim glances as they quietly loaded their gear into the helix. It had become a sort of ritual for them, nervous energy driving them silent. Adrenaline always pumped at the start of every mission, never knowing what could happen. And this time was no different.

"Hey, you ok?" Jesse looked at Shalimar in concern when he scooted out from under the helix and found her staring at the wing, running her hand along the cool metal.

"What? Yeah." She looked over him, but Jesse had the feeling she wasn't really seeing him.

He paused to wipe his hands clean on a soft towel, throwing it over his shoulder. "Maintenance cleared," He reported to Adam, mentally going through the various checks in his head.

"Thanks, Jesse." Adam's voice intoned back at them.

Jesse nodded, forgetting the older man couldn't see him. Brennan and Emma were already inside, and he knew they must be as anxious as he was to get going. Once they knew they had a mission, waiting became hell. It was almost easier to actually face the danger than to sit around and worry about it. He sighed as he walked; this part was always the worst. And this time, he would be the one initiating the contact. A lot of this mission would be up to him. He grinned in anticipation. It took him a few more steps to realize Shalimar wasn't beside him.

"Talk to me, Shal." He walked back toward her, watching as she pressed her cheek against the smooth metal of the helix.

She looked at him, sighing as she pushed off the plane, moving forward to meet him. He caught her arm as she stepped past him. "It's nothing, really."

"Are you upset about this morning?"

"This morning?" She looked at him in confusion.

"Yeah." Jesse fiddled slightly, looking embarrassed. "Emma told me that you were, you know, interrupted."

Shalimar's eyes widened in understanding, before narrowing slightly. "I'll have to talk to Emma about that later."

Jesse smiled. "Don't worry, she mentioned something about having to build up higher walls now."

"Yeah." Shalimar's eyes rolled back wryly. "Guess there has been an increase of emotion around here lately."

They exchanged smiles, walking side by side toward the gaping door in the belly of the helix.

"So?" Jesse nudged her gently when she fell silent.

"I was thinking about this mission." Shalimar paused on the ramp, looking back over her shoulder at the Molecular. "I can't shake this feeling I'm missing something."

Brennan looked up as they entered, picking up their words. "You really couldn't decode what this thing being sold was?"

Jesse shook his head, settling into his seat. Emma had already powered up his terminal, and he shot her a grateful grin. "I don't know. I didn't have much to go off of. All I could figure out was that it's some sort of list."

_List?_ Shalimar faintly remembered Jesse saying something about a list the other day when he came to check on her. She had been so sick, she only half heard what he was saying.

"What about you, Emma?" Brennan turned in the pilot's seat to cast the Psionic a glance. "Have you picked up on anything from Adam?"

The redhead hesitated.

"Emma?" Brennan frowned. "Is he hiding something from us again?"

As leader, Adam was bound to have secrets, and Emma had learned to respect that, knowing it wasn't her place to share more than he intended. It was a strong sense of moral code that she instilled upon herself. _But lately…_ She shook her head, realizing the others were staring at her. "I can tell that he's worried, a little afraid. But I'm not sure."

"Well that's normal." Shalimar closed the conversation before Brennan could say anything more. She knew he still had his issues with Adam, but didn't want to get into them now. She felt his eyes on her, and looked up, making contact.

He nodded, understanding, and let it go.

She smiled, and he turned back around.

"So, you ready Jess?" Brennan reached above him to flick a few switches; the cabin hummed with bridled energy.

"Let's do this." Jesse took a deep breath, tapping a few keys, establishing a link with Adam. "We're ready."

"Good luck." Adam's voice echoed in the team's ears as Brennan pushed forward on the throttle and the helix roared out of the mountain.

The mission had begun.

Brennan groaned in boredom, rolling his stiff neck as he looked at his watch for the twentieth time in as many minutes.

They were sitting inside a dance club.

While throngs of people danced unabashedly, unaware, all around them.

They were sitting.

Watching Jesse.

He yawned deeply.

Shalimar threw him a sideways frown as he didn't even bother to hide his boredom. She had to admit, she was getting pretty tired of just sitting here herself. According to Adam, the seller was supposed to meet Jesse at a designated table. But so far, the molecular had just sat there, nursing a single drink, trying to look casual.

As if he wasn't actually sitting there waiting for someone.

She shook her head, twirling the straw in her own drink. A strong whiff of feminine perfume caught her attention, and she lifted her eyes in time to see a waitress appear, standing ridiculously close to Brennan as she asked if he was thirsty.

As if he didn't have a half-full glass sitting right in front of him.

The woman smiled, leaning closer yet to whisper in his ear.

As if she wasn't sitting right there watching them.

Shalimar's eyes narrowed.

She felt Emma's hand land on her thigh under the table, knowing the Psionic was already sensing what was about to happen. She flashed Emma a tight smile, eyes going immediately back to watch the scene in front of her. The waitress lifted a slender hand, tucking impossibly long luxurious brunette hair behind delicate ears, her perky chest brushing against Brennan's shoulder as she reached across him for his drink, smiling back at him as she walked away, hips swaying on legs that went practically up to her chin.

And Brennan watched her tongue-tied.

The growl escaped her before she realized it.

Brennan looked at her in slight amusement. "You can sheave your claws now, Shal."

Her eyes narrowed more into tiny slits. "Excuse me?"

Emma shifted uncomfortably in her chair, lightly clearing her throat in reminder that they weren't the only two at the table.

They ignored her.

Shalimar's look only made Brennan grin more. "Do you really think I would be turned on by—by that?" He gestured in the direction of the disappearing waitress.

Only a few days into their relationship, and she had already claimed him as hers. The feeling only left her slightly irrational. She flushed slightly. "I don't know what you're talking about." Her tone dared him to say anything more.

But Brennan ignored it, leaning toward her conspiratorially. "You were jealous."

"I was not." Her eyes flared. "Why would I be jealous of some hussy flagrantly flirting with you while I'm sitting right here next to you?"

He leaned back in satisfaction at her words. "You were."

Her fingers tightened on her drink. "Was not."

"Yeah you were." He seemed to finally recognize the danger, sobering, holding her gaze with a serious expression. "Come on, you know I did nothing to encourage her, I was just as surprised as you were."

_Humph_. Shalimar forced a glittery smile as the waitress returned behind Brennan, stretching herself over his shoulder to set down his refilled glass. Brennan ignored her proximity, instead reaching his hand across the table to close around Shalimar's, thumb tracing sensual circles across her palm. She lifted her eyes, steadily meeting those of the waitress behind her. She bared her teeth.

The woman swallowed, backing away.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side," Brennan whispered with a territorial smile, thumb slipping between her fingers to rub the sensitive skin.

She quirked an eyebrow, irritation melting away at the blatant desire in his eyes. She lifted her chin slightly in hint of a challenge, trapping his thumb between her strong fingers.

"Still say you weren't jealous?" Brennan did short battle with her fingers, enjoying the moment too much to let it go. He shot her a triumphant grin when he pulled his thumb free of her hold.

"I seem to remember a certain irrational jealousy from you too lately, Brennan." Emma reminded him, sharing grins with Shalimar. "How many times did you almost come to blows with Alex?" She raised her eyebrows. "And over nothing?"

Brennan frowned petulantly at the reminder. "That was different."

"Uh-huh, sure." Laughter spilled over the table as Emma and Shalimar couldn't hold it back any longer.

"Don't you have somewhere to be, Emma?" Brennan pointedly teased her.

"Nope." She promptly flashed him an ingratiating grin, causing another round of giggles.

Shalimar nudged Brennan with her shoulder, grinning as he rolled his eyes.

"Hey guys, anything yet?" Jesse's voice interrupted them.

Emma glanced over to see him discreetly talking into his ring as he took a drink. She let her gaze continue casually around the room, before coming back around to her own table, taking a sip of her own glass. "Not a thing happening over here."

"Not even with these waitresses?" Brennan bit back his chuckle as Shalimar slapped him underneath the table.

"At least you've got some company; I'm all alone over here."

"Poor baby." Emma cajoled, grin belaying her words.

"Alright everyone, stay focused." Adam's voice brought them back to attention.

"How much longer should we wait, Adam?" Shalimar stared into her glass as she swirled her drink. The ice cubes had melted long ago. There were a lot of things she'd rather be doing than sitting here, like picking up those new shoes she had admired in the store window a few weeks ago when she had been out with Brennan. Back before life had gotten crazier than usual. Back before she was stuck sitting here bored out of her mind. She made little effort to stifle a yawn.

"Let's give it a little more time." Adam's voice bore little sympathy, cutting off without any more instruction.

"Great." Brennan sighed, looking around the room with increasing boredom. After two hours of waiting, it was unlikely anything was going to happen. The natural adrenaline had long ago worn off, leaving him antsy. He straightened slightly as something caught his eye.

"You two be good," Emma pushed up from the table with a final grin. "I'm going to take a walk around, see if I can sense anything."

Shalimar watched her leave, glancing over at the bored molecular, before taking another sip of her drink. She almost spit it out in surprise when she suddenly felt Brennan's hand brush against her knee, squeezing lightly. She looked over at him, and felt a sudden flush at the look in his eyes.

His lips curved with a lazy smile, eyes beginning a slow perusal down her body, starting at the delicate collarbones peeking out of the neckline of her fitted shirt, unbuttoned far lower than he was used to seeing on her. His gaze followed the trail of buttons to soft faded jeans that cupped every curve. She flushed even more, and his eyes took on a wicked gleam as they dropped to her open-toed sandals before finally returning his gaze to hers. Her eyebrows quirked in challenge as he smirked, their gazes locking. He leaned closer until there were mere inches between them, and she deliberately closed her eyes, inhaling the scent of him. Her heart beat began to pick up, and she found herself watching him, only him, drowning in the heat of his eyes until only the sound of loud pulsating music surrounded them, closing them off.

And she forgot about Jesse waiting at the nearby table.

Brennan held out his hand, leading her to the dance floor, and she willingly followed. The music was loud, fast, almost a tribal beat, and Brennan watched Shalimar dance, the tight white shirt showing every curve of her body as she moved. The way she moved held him entranced. She moved closer, dancing against him and around him. He responded, pulling her closer as her arms locked around his neck, settling into the music until they were staring at one another, intensity growing, moving closer and closer until there were scant inches between them. Her eyes fluttered shut in anticipation of his kiss, shivering as she lifted her lips.

_Shalimar._

Something, somewhere, in the far reaches of her mind, made her stop. She froze, blinking, and the music seemed to suddenly wrap itself around her more fully. No longer in welcome, but in screams of outrage, demanding to be heard. Hands wrapped around her in a smoky promise, and she gasped, opening her eyes to suddenly find herself in the arms of a stranger.

_Shalimar._

She stared, eyes wide, unable to move, in a world of her own even in a crowded room.

_Must you dance alone? _

The eyes held her, the hunger lurking within scaring her, holding her hostage.

Shock.

Fear.

Facing the darkness on her own.

She shivered; time suspended in the strobing lights of the dance floor. "Who are you?" She finally managed to speak.

_No, now is not the time for questions. Now, now we dance…then we hunt. The prey is near. Do you feel it, Shalimar? I know you feel it._

Hunt…? She resisted, the first few steps awkward, without understanding as she was whirled around, reflections of a shadow moving in the corner of her eye. Unable to stop, unable to resist, unconsciously, she turned her face, seeking it out, struggling to know. A turn, a reach. Something flashed. She lifted her head.

_The urge.__ The thrill. Find the prey, Shalimar, feel it. _

The words whispered in her ear, and she jerked back, meeting violet eyes grinning in wild delight as the music grew faster, more demanding, and she was forced to pick up the speed. Amber eyes and violet eyes flashed in feral understanding as she was pulled along in the wake. There was something else to the music, something that lurked in the shadows of the notes and tones. Something else that whispered to her, taunted her as she was whirled around and around. Breathless, dizzy, she was abruptly stopped, eyes locking on a figure across the room.

_Prey._

She saw Jesse.

Reflex denial roared into being, and she struggled. Violet eyes smiled violently with satisfaction, and she saw it was what the stranger had been waiting for. A strangled sob escaped her lips as she looked back over at the molecular, sitting bored, fingering his drink.

Unaware of the dangers hovering in the shadows behind him.

With a triumphant laugh, white teeth flashed in the darkness. Music roared, pounding in her ear drums, and then abruptly, she was released from the hold of the dance. For a split second, Shalimar stumbled, and time froze once more as rhythm faltered.

And then Brennan's hands were suddenly on her, his warm eyes looking down in concern.

Knowledge exploded.

_No_. She almost folded in upon herself as the last strains of music faded into silence. Her panting breaths were harsh with emotion, and when she finally raised her head, she was left realizing her mistake.

The others barely knew what happened.

Brennan thought she was tired, leading her trembling body back to the table.

But she understood.

Distraction.

Carelessness.

In the dim light, she had watched him.

While he watched Jesse.

And someone else watched them all.

It was a tired group that stumbled back into Sanctuary, yawning and confused. Adam's quiet instruction that they would talk in the morning lingered on her mind even as she numbly undressed for bed. Night fell, and Sanctuary became quiet and dark.

It was hours later, and still she lay awake when she finally slipped out from under Brennan's heavy arm, backing away from the bed, legs abruptly hit the edge of a chair. She sank into it, shivering as she drew her legs up to her chest. Hours more passed and still she sat, huddled on the chair, not moving, not sleeping, eyes burning across the room in the darkness.

And she watched him.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer—See Chapter One

A/N: I managed to finish a very long chapter six, so am now starting chapter seven. I'm slowly getting there. :) I thank you all so much for your feedback and comments! You inspire me to keep going, thank you! Rachel, Kerry, Marie Crosby, MariShal, tunder28, Courtney, Mxfan214 thank you so much for your encouragement! Blackpanther, I think a few of your questions will be answered in this chapter, or at least hinted at. Thank you! Susie, their time will come…eventually. :) Thank you, your reviews make my day! Mayra and CatJerica, I love your insights, they always challenge me. Thank you so much! Rain, I love how you notice the details. It gives me a thrill to know someone is noticing. :) Thank you! This chapter is a little different because nothing really happens. I debated for a long time whether or not to even keep it or merge it with another, but in the end on the advice of my wonderful betas, left it alone. Although not much happens, I needed it because it sets a lot of the subtle groundwork for different things in both the emotions and tone of the story as well as for parts of the various plots I'm attempting to weave together. So I hope you still enjoy it despite its weaknesses! The next chapter picks up the action again. Thank you all so much!

Traveling On—Chapter Four

He was all alone.

The thought hit Brennan as soon as he opened his eyes, blinking blearily in the early morning light. It was the second morning in a row he had woken up early. He groaned, pushing himself into a sitting position, resting his head back against the headboard for a moment, waiting for the last foggy tendrils of sleep to clear. For a moment, he had a fleeting thought that maybe she was sick again, but when he turned his head, the bathroom door was open, darkness staring back at him. He slumped back against the headboard, yawning widely, eyes drifting back shut. He awoke with a startled jerk sometime later, realizing he had dozed off sitting upright. He careened his neck, working out the kinks from his awkward position, eyes scanning the room to see he was still alone. A glance at the clock told him morning had come, so he forced himself to get up, yawning more as he padded toward the shower. Shalimar's clothes from the night before were still scattered on the floor of the bathroom, her perfume still lingering faintly on the air, and he couldn't help but grin at the reminders. She had followed him automatically into his room last night, rather than stopping off in her own, sleeping in one of his shirts and using his toothbrush when she thought he wasn't looking. He wondered what Adam's reaction would be if they combined rooms, wincing slightly at the thought of that conversation. Maybe it could wait a bit longer. He methodically stripped down, stepping into the shower, thoughts drifting pleasantly to the previous night and the way she had filled out those clothes, the soft white blouse teasing him as she danced closely against him. He frowned, briskly rubbing shampoo into his head as he remembered the chilled way she had suddenly looked at him, pulling out of his arms and stumbling back to the table. She hadn't said much, in fact she had been rather quiet the rest of the evening as they returned home, tired and disappointed at the waste of time the mission had turned out to be. Jesse hadn't been contacted, Emma hadn't sensed anything out of place, and Adam had said they would talk more about it in the morning. He glanced at the clock once more as he stepped out of the shower, quickly pulling on his clothes. Adam would probably be calling for them soon, and he wanted to find Shalimar first. Although she hadn't said anything, and although she had claimed she was just tired last night when he questioned her in the quietness of his room, he couldn't shake the feeling that something had happened. _It couldn't be that bad_, he reasoned as he left his bedroom, wandering the hallway, _otherwise she would have told him._

It didn't take him long to find her.

He had only taken a few steps when the thought occurred to him to check her room. He turned, making a beeline back down the hallway. Her bedroom door was closed, and he knocked softly as he turned the handle. The door opened easily in his hand, and he poked his head inside the darkened room, almost missing the huddled lump up high on what he secretly thought of as her cat bed. Raised to shoulder height, the small bed reminded him of a cat perch he had seen as a child in one of his foster homes. The pampered cat would lie in the high window seat for hours, blinking lazily as it surveyed its world from above. He had never asked her about it, but decided Adam must have had something similar in mind when he designed it for the feral. He grinned, shaking his head as he stepped into the room, closing the door behind him.

"Shal?" Her back was to him, but he saw her stir lightly at his call. Her leopard print throw was drawn up to her chest, the slim line of her shoulders outlined in the dimness. "You ok?" He stepped up to the bed, resting his elbows against it. More like a narrow shelf, there was no way his lanky body would fit up there. He was glad Adam had seen fit to at least put a more traditional bed in his room, even if it was on the small side. He reached up, brushing her hair off her face as she shifted slightly under the blanket, glancing back over her shoulder at him. He was startled to see trace tears on her cheeks, her eyes dry, but red. "What's wrong?"

She silently shook her head, turning back away from him. His hand brushed through her hair, one, two, three times as he waited in the heavy silence, but still she didn't speak. He sighed, dropping his hand to her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Are you feeling sick again?"

After a moment, she shook her head.

It wasn't much, but it encouraged him. He tried again. "Look, if you needed some space, it's ok, I really don't—"

"No."

Her whispered word cut him off. _Ok_. He furrowed his brow, chewing his lip, hoisting himself up onto the bed after a slight hesitation.

He was right before; he didn't fit.

"Brennan, what are you doing?" In a tangled midst of arms and legs, Shalimar's voice huffed in irritation, finding her face smashed against his shoulder. One of his legs was dangling off the bed, and if he pressed any harder, she was going to go down over the other side. Her eyes narrowed, not caring he couldn't see them, quickly deciding that if she fell, he would be going down with her. "Brennan!"

He could feel her lips moving against his shirt, her annoyance clear in the mumbled word. "I'm trying to get you to talk to me," He reasoned calmly, as if the explanation would make their present position make all the sense in the world. He ignored her huff of disbelief, turning his attention instead to his dangling leg. It was growing numb. _If he could just move a tiny bit to the left..._ He shifted forward, freezing as Shalimar suddenly clamped onto him, the weight of her teetering body pulling against him. _Or maybe not._ He eased back, deciding his leg could just wait.

They laid in silence for a moment.

He tried for nonchalance. "So what do you want to talk about?"

She snorted against his shoulder, laughing despite herself. "Idiot."

He grinned in triumph, managing to wiggle his fingers as they were squashed against her back. "Yeah, but I'm your idiot."

Just as quickly, her laughter faded.

His heart thumped in sudden fear. "Shal?"

"It's nothing, Brennan." She wiggled against him for a moment, somehow managing to sit up.

He sat up as well, narrowly missing banging his head on the ceiling.

"Careful," She automatically cautioned, turning and sitting cross-legged on the end of the bed.

"Yeah." He grunted, pulling her pillow out from under him as he hunched his body down as far as he could, the top of his head still scraping the ceiling. "How can you stand this?" His brows arched upward, indicating the setup of the bed.

"I love it." Her smile transformed her face.

He shook his head in acute disagreement. "We really are different sometimes."

"Yeah."

They fell quiet again.

He watched as her finger traced the bold patterns of the printed quilt. "Talk to me, Shalimar." He finally broke the silence.

She sighed heavily, finally glancing up at him. He was shocked at the lines of deep guilt etched into her face. "Last night shouldn't have happened, Brennan."

He shook his head not following. "Last night?"

"At the club, we let ourselves get distracted, we stopped watching Jesse."

"So?" He still wasn't following. "So we danced a little. Emma was still there. And besides, Jesse's fine. Nothing happened—"

"But it could have."

It was her quiet tone that finally clued him in. He turned, sliding down off the bed. Her body turned toward him naturally in question, and he stretched up, catching her legs, tugging her forward until she sat on the side of the bed, legs hanging over the edge. He sighed, gently pushing her knees apart as he stepped between them. She stiffened slightly, but he pretended not to notice as he reached for her. "Tell me what happened last night, Shal."

She visibly shuddered as his fingers slid against her jaw, eyes falling shut as his large hands framed her face. "I don't know, Brennan." The words came out quickly, in soft puffs of air, and he strained to hear her. "There was someone there, in my head, he knew I wasn't watching as I should have been, he took control of me, taunting me, taunting all of us."

"What?" Brennan's voice rose as he shook his head in confusion. "But that's impossible, I was with you the whole time—"

"It was just like with Ashlocke."

"But Ashlocke's dead, he can't—"

"I know." Her voice was a whisper, trembling, tongue darting nervously out to lick her dry lips. "But that's what scares me."

"Shalimar." He sighed her name, pulled her into a hug. She resisted for only a moment, slumping against him as his arms circled her waist, pulling her closer. He ran his hands up and down her back in soothing circles, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Honey, it can't be Ashlocke, you know that, right?"

She sniffed, nodding against his chest. "But it can be someone like him."

The words brought dread to his heart, chest constricting painfully, numbly, as her arms rose to wrap around his neck, her nose cold as it pressed into his neck. _He took control of me…_ The words stabbed over and over in his brain, and he shuddered, involuntarily tightening his own hold on her, clutching fistfuls of her hair, eyes burning as he stared across the room. _Never, Shal, never again._

"Why didn't you tell us last night?" It was a few hours later, and Jesse stared at Shalimar in disbelief as she related her experience. "Better yet," He continued before she could answer, "Why didn't Emma sense any of this?"

"Emma?" Adam gently prompted the redhead as all eyes turned to her, and she stayed silent.

She finally looked up, eyes conflicted. "I didn't sense anything." She turned towards Shalimar in anguish. "Shal, I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault." Shalimar quickly shook her head, reaching out to the psionic. "Don't even go there."

"Shalimar's right, Emma." Jesse came up behind her, squeezing her shoulders. "The important thing is that she's ok, that we're all ok."

Adam watched thoughtfully as Jesse reassured them, glancing over at Brennan as he felt the elemental's eyes studying him.

"Adam, what do you think?" Brennan spoke up when he saw their mentor turn toward him.

"I'm not sure," Adam crossed over to his computer, pulling up the known mutant database. "But I do know there have been only a few times recently when another psionic has been that powerful."

"You mean only one other time, Adam…" The silence was heavy as Emma's voice trailed away, eyes darting over at Brennan.

"You mean like with Alex." Brennan finally broke the silence, voice tight.

"Yes, like Alex." Emma quietly agreed, hand rising as Brennan's lips pressed into a flat line. "Look, I'm not saying it was him. I'm just saying there must have been someone blocking me, someone very strong."

"So you sensed nothing unusual?" Adam asked again, glancing up from his search.

"Not really," Emma shook her head, searching to explain. "Just the normal emotions. There was one time, but it went away as fast as it came, so I dismissed it."

"What?" Adam watched her more intently. "What was it?"

"It was just a passing thought, more of a feeling really, of…of emptiness, blankness." She shrugged in frustration, unable to explain. "In a crowded room like that, it's hard to distinguish a separate thought. I don't know, it was so strange, but it was like for a moment, out of the barrage, a single impression stood out. But there was no emotion to sense, almost like---"

"Like someone was pretending to be human?"

Brennan started at Shalimar's whispered words, remembering all too painfully the last time she said them. He stared at her, trying to understand, but her eyes were looking past him.

Adam fingers had stopped their typing at Shalimar's words, also remembering another conversation. His head slowly lifted, gaze locking with the feral's.

"What are you saying, Shal?" Brennan's eyes shifted between hers and Adam's, not liking the sudden undercurrent. He had a sudden sick reminder of when Shalimar had forced the truth about Alex out of the man. "Shal?"

"I'm saying that this person, whoever he was, is just like Michael, or maybe even a little like Ashlocke." She took a step closer to Adam. "And I think this mission is related to Dr. Shaw, but that Adam already knew that."

"That doesn't make sense, Shalimar." Jesse pinched his nose, struggling to follow the shift in conversation.

"You mentioned the buyers were selling some kind of list, Jesse, and I finally realized why that sounded so familiar." She crossed the rest of the way over to Adam, searching the older man's eyes as he steadily held her gaze. "A list, Adam. You told me the night we got back from the underground facility that you were following recent activity, something about a list of names. I asked you then if it was connected to the research, but you didn't answer."

"He still hasn't answered even now." Brennan's words were quiet, bitter, understanding flashing across his features. "Is Shalimar right, is this connected, Adam?" He clenched his fists, anger brewing beneath the surface. "Did you know the danger we might be in last night?"

"I suspected, yes." Adam answered just as quietly.

"But you didn't think it prudent to warn us? To tell us?" The elemental gestured wildly, quickly losing control of his temper.

Adam stood to his feet, voice calm. "I did warn you. I told you several times in fact to stay alert, to pay attention, but yet you chose to ignore my warnings."

Brennan glared, arms crossing tightly across his chest as he struggled to regain control.

"I didn't tell you any details because I still do not fully know what is going on here." Adam's voice momentarily slipped its tight reign, showing emotion. "Is this related? Yes, I suspect that it is related. But until I have concrete facts, hard evidence, I am not going to worry my team needlessly." His gaze moved around the room, landing intentionally on each one of them before settling back on Brennan. "It's my job to worry about things like this. We've had this discussion before, Brennan. There are some things a leader must shoulder and some things a leader must share. It is my decision when and where to do so."

"It's ok, Adam." Jesse finally spoke up. "We believe you."

Emma nodded as well, leaning back into Jesse's chest. She smiled in agreement, but the expression did not quite reach her eyes.

"Thanks for telling us, Adam." Shalimar blew out a nervous breath, relieved and fearful all at once. There was enough to worry about without more secrets tearing them apart. "Brennan?" She turned pointed eyes onto the tall man.

Brennan struggled silently for a moment, jaw flexing in frustration, before finally nodding.

"Good." Adam closed the subject, turning back to his computer. "Now, let's find this guy, shall we?"

She was sitting cross-legged on her bed when Jesse found her. He stood in the doorway, watching Emma as she kept her eyes closed. He eased into the room, closing the door behind him as quietly as possible. His socked feet slid silently across the floor as he crossed the small room. He knelt hesitantly down beside the bed, unsure if he should disturb her or not.

Her face was serene, hardly moving as she concentrated, and he shifted uncertainly. "Emma?" He finally ventured to whisper her name as time passed.

She didn't move.

"Emma?" He finally tried again, a little louder.

To her credit, Emma kept a straight face, pretending not to notice Jesse. Teasing him was so much fun. She held still as Jesse pushed off his knees, sitting on the bed beside her.

He reached out a hand, pausing. She didn't blink, didn't move; she was impossibly still. His brow furrowed. "Emma?" He touched her arm.

"AHHH!"

He jerked violently at her sudden scream, falling back, heart pounding in shocked confusion as she leapt to her feet. It took him a moment to realize she was laughing. He narrowed his eyes, leaning forward to rest his elbows against his knees, willing his heart to settle back down in his chest. He squinted as he glanced back up at her. "Oh, that is so not funny."

"Sorry." Her eyes danced, and she sidled up to him, unable to resist his pout. "Did you need something?" She ran her hands along his arms, up to his shoulders, stepping between his legs as he parted his feet on the floor to make more room for her.

He didn't even skip a beat, brow quirking irresistibly.

"You."

He knew he got her when he saw the flush that spread from her forehead to below the neckline of her shirt. His mouth quivered as he gently pulled her to within an inch of his body, wrapping his hands around her hips, laying his head against her ribcage.

They were quiet for a moment, enjoying the feeling of being together

His lips curved into a smile, breaking the silence. "Gotcha ya." He felt the quick rush of air that she exhaled stir the hair on his head before she splayed the fingers of both hands gently against his scalp. He looked up at her, and she tilted her chin down to look him squarely in the eyes, one eyebrow slightly raised.

"So what are you going to do with me?"

He laughed, wrapping one hand around the back of her knee, gently pulling her leg up and over his. She placed her hands on his shoulders to keep her balance, smiling back when he brought his other hand to the back of her other knee, drawing her up and into his lap.

"This is…good." Her voice was breathless as she looked down at herself straddled across him. When she finally brought her eyes back up to his face, he saw that she was grinning.

He laughed, grinning back, chin dipping and smile smoothing into one of gentle tenderness for her. He stared at her for a heartbeat, expression growing more serious.

"What is it?" She ran a hand down his cheek.

"Sometimes I think this must all be a dream," His voice was hoarse, and he shrugged, embarrassed to admit his thoughts. "I'm afraid to blink, to open my eyes for fear it will all disappear."

"Jess," She smiled, tugging his chin back up. "If this is a dream, then let's never wake up."

Her smile was contagious, an answering grin tugging on his mouth, left dimple flashing in reply. He leaned forward, capturing her lips, flooding her with overwhelming emotions.

She gasped, arms tightening around his neck, kissing him back with everything she had to give. And for a brief moment, she hid nothing.

Shalimar hit a key, pausing the search on the computer, pushing back to rub her eyes. Two hours of watching faces flash across the screen and still nothing.

"How's it going?" Brennan glanced up at her sympathetically from where he sat at his own terminal across the desk from her.

"Not so well." Shalimar groaned, throwing him a frustrated look. "I wish I could remember more." She turned tiredly back to the computer, resuming the search function, staring blearily. "It would be a whole lot easier to find this guy if I knew what he looked like."

"Just keep trying, maybe something will stand out to you yet."

"Yeah," She grumbled, resting her chin on her hand.

"Well, that's it for the blue-eyed ones." Brennan pushed back from his own computer a moment later. "I've checked for any psionics known to have gray eyes and blue eyes, none of them look violet to me." He made a face, nose wrinkling. "How can someone have violet eyes anyway? Isn't that purple?"

"I don't know, they were just…violet, ok?" Her voice reflected thinly veiled impatience. She could feel his eyes on her, but kept working, glad when he stayed quiet. They kept working in silence for another half hour, and she could continually feel him watching her. Finally, she glanced up, catching him looking away hurriedly, trying not to be caught. "Ok, what?"

"Hmm?" He glanced over, feigning innocence.

"Was there something you wanted to say?"

He hesitated, debating.

"Never mind." She plopped her chin back in her hand, going back to ignoring him, glaring at him a moment later when she felt his eyes on her once more. "What?"

Brennan scooted his chair back from the table, standing, moving around so that they were on the same side. He leaned up against the desk about a foot away from where she sat, looking at her seriously.

"What?" She was beginning to feel self-conscious.

His head dipped in an unconscious effort to bring his eyes more level with hers. "What you are thinking, Shal?" He leaned more fully against the table to better see her face.

Her eyebrow shot up in response, defensive. "Why do you keep asking me that?"

He shook his head, refusing to back down. "Because I know you, you're worried, and not just about this mission." He held up a finger as she opened her mouth to retort, "Or this psionic, or Adam."

"What? That's not enough for you?" She folded her arms, feeling unnerved that he could read her so well, shifting as she felt his steady gaze on her.

"You're worried about us." He finished gently, stepping closer, head dipping to come even closer to her level.

She stilled, unprepared for the onslaught of emotion at his words. She glanced at him, and it was like sticking her finger into an electrical outlet, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end, eyes involuntarily darting down to his mouth. _Damn it._ Her eyes darted away.

"You're worried that we can't make this work, that we've already let ourselves get too distracted, and that it could be too dangerous for the team, or for one of us."

Her head snapped back up to his, eyes wide.

A sideways grin tugged on his lips at her expression. "What, I can't feel the same way?"

She smiled despite herself, staring into his eyes, watching as his features softened, and he suddenly looked less sure of himself.

"Shalimar…we can figure this out, right?"

Her eyes closed at his whisper, resolve weakening as he bent closer yet, inhaling his scent. She gave a tiny nod, eyes still closed, hand pressing against his chest to stop him when he tried to kiss her. "First we have to discuss the rules."

"The rules?"

She opened her eyes to find him easing back, settling against the side of the desk. "We can't let this interfere with work," She looked down, fingers twisting in her lap.

"Shal," His deep voice interrupted her. "Despite what it may look like at times, I do agree."

A pleased smile tugged at her lips, but when she looked back up her eyes were serious. "I just don't want there to be any misunderstandings."  
"Neither do I." His voice was hoarse, and she recognized the emotion.

"And we have to be honest with each other, Brennan, it's the only way we can keep what we have now."

He was studying her intently, nodding in agreement. "Anything else?"

She worried her lower lip between her teeth, thinking. "Anything else?" She echoed dumbly, suddenly finding her eyes back on his full lower lip. "No, I—I think that's it."

"Ok...good." When he realized she was done with the rules, one corner of his mouth lifted in a smile.

She smiled in return as her gaze shot to his. "Good." Her heart suddenly awoke in her chest, thumping in slow, deep throbs. He leaned slowly forward, making his intentions known. Of their own accord, her eyes fluttered shut, leaning forward to meet him, flying open when he stopped her a second later with a whisper.

"Shal, your search? Did you finish it?"

"Hmm?"

"The rules?"

She was watching his lips move; it took her a moment to understand. "Oh, ah, yeah." She flushed, turning back to her computer, conscious of him as he settled down next to her, patiently waiting, Frustration soon returned as face upon face flashed before her. "I don't think we're going to find him this way, Brennan."

"Why?" He was solely her teammate, interested in her answer.

"For all the mutants Adam has in here, he didn't know about Michael. And if Michael's not in here…"

"Then this guy probably isn't either."

"It was weird, Brennan. It was like they were almost the same, but yet he was different as well." She shook her head. "He was so cold, so strong."

"We'll find him, Shal."

She smiled at him, turning back to her computer, leaning back in her chair a few minutes later.

"Are you done?"

"Yeah." She paused, brow quirking, eyes darting to his. "I think we're both done working now."

He couldn't help it. Her hesitation contrasted by the brave arch of her eyebrow was just too irresistible. It brought out all manner of testosterone driven urges. The urge to protect, the urge to meet a challenge.

The urge to pursue.

His voice was low and persuasive when he gently commanded her. "Come over here, Shal."

Her eyes twinkled mischievously as she stood, straightening up as he stepped closer to her. His hands came up to her face, and her chin tilted upward at the gentle urging of his fingertips. She could feel his breath on her face, holding still as he dipped his head down to her height.

"You're ok with this?" He paused, lips pressing gently against hers as soon as she nodded. For a few moments, they lingered, neither moving, not wanting to break the gentle kiss. She drank in his tenderness, heart stopping, then slamming madly as his fingers pushed into her hair, drawing her closer to him. She arched up on her tiptoes, pulling his head back down when he would have ended it, lips claiming his once more.

The sound of someone clearing their throat behind them broke them apart. Shalimar whirled around to see Adam standing in the doorway. Her heart slammed again, though she wasn't sure why. She glanced at Brennan briefly then looked back at Adam, realizing that their leader looked resigned.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"No," They both spoke quickly, simultaneously.

Adam sighed, glancing at his watch. "Can I see you both in my office for a moment?"

"Yeah." Shalimar watched as he turned and headed down the hallway, glancing back at Brennan who only shrugged. They followed him wordlessly.

"Why do I feel like I'm going to the principal's office?" Brennan whispered to Shalimar as they hesitated outside Adam's office.

She elbowed him, not responding.

He glanced at her warily, not liking the look in her eyes as they entered the office, sitting in the chairs in front of his desk.

Adam stared at them a moment, taking his time before speaking. "I was coming to see how the search was going, but I want to discuss something else first." He paused, staring down at a spot on his desk. "What I saw is none of my business, and I want you to know I will not interfere with your private affairs." He shifted, glancing up at them. "I understand also that because Sanctuary is both your work and your home, it brings an added challenge for each of you."

"Adam," Brennan leaned forward in his chair, quick to defend. "You don't—"

The older man held up his hand, "I am not going to ask you any questions about your relationship or about what I saw just now. However, I must ask that you keep it separate from your work. If ever something of this nature were to happen while on a mission, it could put the entire team at risk."

"We agree, Adam." Shalimar's cheeks burned in embarrassment as she stared at the ground. "We already talked about that."

Adam watched her steadily for a moment, nodding, changing the subject.

Shalimar faintly heard him asking questions about the search, listening to Brennan's answers and Adam's calm voice as they discussed the next steps, but when the meeting ended and they stood up to leave, she realized she hadn't heard any of it.

"Shal—" Brennan tried to feel her out as they headed towards the kitchen for supper.

"Not now, Brennan."

He was frustrated to hear the tightness back in her voice. He grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop, but when he looked into her eyes, she relaxed a little, laying a hand on his arm.

"It's alright, Brennan, just not right now, ok?"

She walked away before he could determine her words, sighing heavily before jogging down the hallway after her.

That night, he held her tight in his arms, burying his face into the warmth of her hair as she lay with her back pressed into his chest. He whispered reassurances as she clenched his fingers, eventually drifting off to sleep.

When he awoke, bright light streamed in under the door, casting deep shadows across the room. He yawned, stretching lazily, raising his head up as he heard his door creak open a moment later. The bright light became overwhelming, blinding him, and he squinted against the onslaught.

"Brennan."

He froze, not recognizing the voice that called to him, sitting up against the headboard in shock at the strange woman standing in his doorway, awkwardly catching the blanket with one hand as it pooled around his waist, gathering a swirl of defensive electricity with the other. He licked his lips to demand who she was, but she had turned before he could voice his thoughts, disappearing in a swirl of long dark hair and intense blue eyes. Instinctive sparks died on his fingers, brow furrowing as he looked around his room, noticing a torn, dirty pair of jeans on the floor. A few things in difference places. _Was that blood?_ He blinked, trying to understand, when his next thought struck him even harder.

He was all alone.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer—See Chapter One

A/N: I'm working on chapter eight now, so am slowly figuring this story out! At this point, I have no idea how many chapters there will be yet! Thank you so much to Mxfan214, blackpanther2288, Mayra, CatJerica, Marie Crosby, Rain, Susie. I love reading your thoughts and your guesses! You keep me on my toes as well! Redhead2, I'm so glad you've gotten a chance to read the first two chapters. Thank you! I hope you're able to read more as time allows. FireFeral, I'm so glad to see you're reading too! Thank you! ShalCat-Kitty, you're the first to notice or at least comment on the connection to the episode! It will become more obvious in this chapter and the next as I create my own version of events. But there are definite clues there! Thank you for all your comments, I love reading them. This chapter continues on where the previous one left off. I hope you enjoy! Thank you!

Traveling On—Chapter Five

He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong even as he stumbled to his feet, tripping over shoes he didn't remember leaving out, digging for clothes in his drawer that he had just washed, but now found missing. His fingers shook, and he frowned at the visible sign of weakness, clearing his throat, the sound somehow bringing a sense of comfort. He opened another drawer, then another, finally finding a clean pair of jeans and t-shirt, shrugging them on.

"Adam."

He spoke quickly, tersely into his ring.

No response.

There had been a strange woman in his doorway.

"Adam?" His heart began to pound in the ensuring silence, slow pulsing throbs that hurt. "Shalimar?" He tried again.

There was a long, heavy pause, fear sickening his stomach.

"Yeah."

Her voice was low when she finally answered, but the relief bent him double, hands resting on his knees for a moment.

"What do you want?"

The slight irritation in her voice when he didn't answer brought back a sense of reality, and he straightened, feeling suddenly foolish. Of course there was nothing wrong. Everything was fine. "Where are you?" He kicked a pair of torn, dirty jeans aside as he walked out of his room, pausing in the hallway for her answer. Had they gone drinking last night? He couldn't remember anything that would have ruined his jeans like that. They looked…stiff, like they had been laying there for a while. He scratched his stomach as he yawned, waiting for her to answer.

"Shal?"

She sighed heavily. "In my room."

He turned on his heel, making the short trip to her bedroom, knocking briefly as he opened the door. "That's the second morning in a row I've woken up alone—" The teasing tone in his voice trailed off as he felt the grief, like a palpable wall, when he stepped inside. His heart thumped again, the unknown fear returning as his eyes swept the room.

Something was wrong.

But nothing looked out of place, save the hints of messiness that were unusual for the normally neat feral.

She lay on her high bed, propped against her pillows, her leopard print quilt drawn up to her shoulders, a large book resting against her bent knees. As he drew closer, he recognized it as Emma's photo album.

"Hey," He stopped short of touching her, resting his elbows on the bed. A smile flitted across his face as he caught a glimpse of a picture of Jesse airborne over daises and another of himself stretched across the ground, shirt bunched under his head as he waited, bored for Adam to take a swing. He had almost forgotten Emma had her camera with them that day. "Are you ok?" She wasn't looking at him, eyes glued to the album.

She sniffed, the sound slow and deliberate, before lifting her face to his.

He was shocked at how pale she was, face white and pinched, two high spots of color on her cheeks.

She didn't look happy to see him.

"Are you ok?" He reached for her, but she turned her face away. His fingers brushed against the edge of her hair instead.

She shrugged in response, turning a page in the album.

He watched her quietly for a moment. "Talk to me, Shal."

She visibly flinched at his words, eyes cold, boring into his when she turned back toward him. "So now you want to talk? Now you want to be here?"

He hesitated, hand hovering above her shoulder, surprised by the intensity rolling off her. "What do you mean?"

His innocent confusion only seemed to anger her more. "We buried them two weeks ago, Brennan, and when I needed you most, you weren't here."

His brows shot up, frustration rising. "What are you talking about? I'm right here."

"Being almost here isn't good enough, Brennan!" Her voice rose sharply, breaking off abruptly as she choked back anguished emotion. She took a breath, and it was harsh, painful.

The sense of deep grief struck him again. _We buried them_. Her words burned in his ears, and he stared at her, noticing for the first time the empty spot in the album, the tear-stained pictures of Adam and Emma clutched in her hands. _No, oh no._ Shocked, he scrambled back, stumbling over a pair of shoes. Distantly, his eyes locked on them, numbly recognizing them as a pair Shalimar had been admiring in a store window a few weeks ago. Just yesterday, she had been lamenting about not having time to go back and get them. Shalimar had sat up, the quilt falling from her shoulders, and he was shocked to see how thin she was, her white shirt hanging loosely off her normally curvy figure, the same one that had clung so deliciously to her the night before…

"What the hell is going on here?" His words were equally harsh when he finally found his voice, stumbling again, catching himself on the edge of her desk.

"That's not funny, Brennan." She spat the words back at him, slamming the album shut. The pictures slipped from her shaking fingers, fluttering through the air for a frozen half second before hitting the floor.

They stared at the fallen faces for a moment.

Adam.

Emma.

Smiling inanely back at them.

He groaned, struggling to understand. "There—there was a woman, earlier…in my room…"

Shalimar flinched at his words.

"Shal…I don't know who she was."

Her face was a cold mask of grief and fury as she stared back at him in disbelief. He hunched his shoulders in confusion, tongue darting out, licking his dry lips. "Shal—" His voice cracked and broke, unsure. She took a ragged breath, ignoring him, reaching over, turning on the lamp next to her bed. He blinked at the harsh light suddenly filling the room, eyes burning. Instinctively, his hand flew up, trying to protect his eyes, but the light shone through, drilling into his pupils in painful, unforgiving probes.

"Shalimar—" His voice was a murmur, and he struggled to speak, struggled to move, body sluggish, not responding…

He shot straight up in bed, heart pounded madly in his chest.

Early morning light filtered under his door, shedding a soft glow around the room. His room. He froze, almost afraid to look, but when his hand reached out, searching, it landed on a soft hip, warm and full under his sweaty palm. His breath left him in a huff, shoulders rounding with relief; fear slow to leave him even as he lay back down on his back, staring up at the ceiling. Beside him, Shalimar shifted in her sleep, turning toward him, and he clutched her to his side, mind whirling with confusion as she rested her cheek against his chest. He stared down at her, drawing her more firmly into his arms. _Everything was fine. It was just a dream. Everything was fine._ It was a mantra in his mind until Shalimar whimpered lowly, and he blinked, realizing with shocked horror that he was leaving red marks where his fingers wrapped around her, digging into her skin. He gasped, quickly releasing her, and she sighed, pressing more deeply into his side, still sound asleep. Normally she was a light sleeper. Tears pricked his eyes at the gesture, recognizing that the feral was trusting him, even at her most vulnerable moment, able to sleep in the secure confidence that he had her back, that she was safe with him. To his shame, the tears did fall, but he didn't try to stop them or even understand them, deep trembles wracking his body as he turned toward her, tenderly tucking her back against his chest with utmost gentleness, spooning his body around hers, carefully nudging a knee between hers, fingers splaying across the warmth of her stomach, every possible inch of skin touching hers.

But the emptiness wouldn't go away, and he shivered long after he lay still, feeling alone despite the fullness in his arms.

Shalimar had been feeling exceedingly closer to Brennan as time went on. Though she couldn't remember who began to open up first, they had begun to share little glimpses deeper into each other. Little glimpses, that's all she'd gotten so far.

Until now.

Now she was having his nightmare. Now she knew how he felt when he woke up, eyes haunted as he waited for his breathing to return to normal, needing someone to bring him out of the darkness. Brennan had a lot of nightmares, she knew that, she knew that they all did, lingering fears from their hidden pasts. But she wondered how often he dreamt of that moment, watching hopelessly, terrified, as his mother's breath grew more rattled, stretching his small lanky body next to hers, face pressed into her shoulder as the painful breaths grew further and further apart, more raspy, more shallow, holding his own breath at the end of each one, tears clogging his throat, begging silently to hear one more, always just one more.

At the tender age of nine years old, Brennan had lost his mother.

And though he hated himself for even thinking it, a tiny part of him blamed her for leaving him alone.

He was all alone at nine years old.

She swallowed thickly, staring at the ceiling as she rolled her eyes up, willing the tears away. He had never told her, but somehow she knew her dream was real, that she had lived his nightmare. She rolled, careful not to disturb his arm draped securely around her, wanting to see him in the morning light. It was getting late, she could tell by the full light flooding the room, but still he slept deeply, exhaustion lingering on his features, even after the whole of the night. A small frown played around her features, hand reaching up to soothe the lines across his brow. Her touch seemed to relax him, and he sighed, unconsciously leaning into her touch. Love waged with fear as she stared at the man she knew so well, her teammate, her friend, and now almost her lover. She flushed, unsure why the thought unsettled her, thoughts turning more serious as she remembered her dream. She knew the man who lay before her today; she hadn't known the boy still hiding within. She pulled his head down to her breast, pressing a long, silent kiss to his temple, for the moment pushing all the fears and worries aside for the love that throbbed anew as she wept silently for both the boy and the man in her arms.

Adam stared thoughtfully across the room, watching as his team readied for their next mission. He had gotten word that the seller wanted a second meet, failing to show for the first one. It had taken a lot of reassuring before pining down a firm appointment, in a rural patch of forest on the edge of town. On the edge of nowhere really, Adam frowned at the thought, trying to read the body language of the members of his team as they finished up a late breakfast together, packed duffel bags resting at their feet. They didn't know what this second attempt would bring, and from Shalimar's description of the psionic that attacked her the last time, they were trying to prepare for all possibilities. Jesse's leg jiggled up and down in nervous energy, Shalimar and Brennan strangely quiet as they pushed back their plates. From their tired faces, their jerky movements, he almost would have thought they fought, save the closeness between them as they rose as one, fingers brushing against each other as they picked up their plates, his hand on the small of her back as he followed her to the sink. He caught Emma watching him, and he strode forward, entering the room.

"Everyone prepared to go?"

Jesse shoulders tensed slightly, but his face was relaxed in a grin when he turned toward him. "Let's get it on."

Emma rolled her eyes and Shalimar's laughter broke the tension as Brennan waggled his brows in response. Adam hid a smile as he turned and strolled toward the helix with easy confidence.

His team was ready.

They weren't ready for this, Shalimar thought for the umpteenth time as she lay stretched out along the limb of a high tree. It had been an easy place for her to hide, keeping her fairly close to Jesse as he waited in open on the ground below. The fact that it was easy for her also made it an obvious place for her, and she was on edge. If he showed, all the bushy leaves in the world wouldn't be enough to keep her hidden from him. She hoped this time it would only be the seller making an appearance. Their location left them vulnerable, spread far out on the edge of a sparse patch of trees. An old road stretched across one side of them and the sparse trees backed up to a National Park, an old growth forest that quickly swallowed up the natural light of the sun and stretched for hundreds of miles behind them. But the fact that it was rural seemed to reassure the seller. _Foolish man_, she frowned, eyes again uneasily scanning the ground. He was obviously an amateur, or he would have known better. Brennan and Emma were also hiding behind some trees, but the fact that they had to go behind rather than up meant they were further away, the nearest trees large enough to hide them much deeper than the straggly brush she and Jesse waited in. Adam was hovering a mile away, cloaked in the helix.

"He's late again." Jesse commented softly, leaning against Shalimar's tree.

"At least it's not raining." She whispered back with a smile.

He bent his neck, grinning up at her.

"Hey guys, someone's coming." Emma cautioned them suddenly. She paused, and the smile could be heard in her voice. "He's really nervous."

"Here we go," Jesse pushed off from the tree, rubbing his hands together. "Finally we're getting somewhere."

"Not so fast," Shalimar suddenly hissed in warning. Her eyes were glued on two figures approaching down the road from the west. The road climbed uphill, and they were still hidden by the slope of the road. Just beyond them, she could see a waiting car. "Adam," She whispered, eyes swinging around to see another figure hesitantly climbing out of a car, glancing both ways before crawling down the ditch toward Jesse. "We've got more company."

"Where?"

She could hear the edge in Brennan's voice, could see Jesse shifting his feet, unable to react as the seller chose that moment to make eye contact.

"Keep going, Jesse," Adam decided for all of them. "It is imperative we get that list."

Jesse nodded, stepping forward, but the seller chose that moment to glance nervously around once more.

The same moment a car appeared over the rise of the hill.

The following moments were swallowed in a blur of confusion and sharp commands as the car squealed to a stop, an enormous mountain of a man stepping from inside. The seller began to run, Jesse taking off after him at Adam's hollered direction. Shalimar saw Brennan and Emma starting forward, just as she realized the other two figures had disappeared. She heard Brennan yell her name, a mix of anger and fear, and then the world stopped moving.

For a brief moment.

Shalimar bit back a cry of pain as a shimmering wave of air suddenly smashed into her shoulder and catapulted her from the tree. She crashed through the branches, the earth hurtling up to meet her in a too fast rush of brown and green. Frustrated rage and pain exploded as her head slammed off the ground, and she dazedly wondered if the liquid running into her eyes was sweat or blood. A rustle to her left turned her head, and she found herself staring deep into the eyes of the man who had knocked her out of the tree. His face was expressionless, and she wondered emotionlessly what he saw when he looked at her.

A tiny woman lying helplessly on her back in the dirt.

She deliberately turned her head away, looking back up at the hole her fall had torn through the leaves of the tree. Her own fault.

She had been caught her off-balance and unprepared.

Again.

Brown eyes went flat and a mirthless laugh forced itself painfully from her throat as rage spiraled into a familiar maelstrom. Her fingers tightened, clutching handfuls of dirt as a sneering face bent over her. She had the fleeting thought that his eyes weren't violet before her fingers reacted, throwing handfuls of dirt into the face, twisting gracefully to her feet as a voice howled in shocked pain. She landed in a ready squat, hearing Brennan yell her name again, knowing he and Emma were still too far away to help her, confident that she didn't need them anyway.

There were only two men.

She could handle them without any problem.

She refused to show fear when five more stepped off the road.

She hadn't seen them.

She hadn't sensed them.

She still couldn't sense them now, even as they came toward her, and she watched with frozen fascination as they surrounded her.

None of them had violet eyes.

_Damn it!_ Brennan swore under his breath as he ran towards Shalimar. He couldn't get near her fast enough. The scene looked like a lynch mob on the hunt.

Only they already had their prey.

Shalimar was roughly pushed toward the front, her hands quickly bound, her face, hands, and knees bloodied. She stumbled from a rough shove, but was caught before she could hit the ground. Then she was pushed forward again.

Incensed, Brennan didn't think, he reacted. "Shalimar!" He screamed and ran to her, ignoring Adam's barked commands or Emma's panting words as she ran behind him.

Shalimar's head instantly snapped up to him when he yelled, her face a cool layer of control that broke when a large man opened his palm and sent a shock wave of air toward Brennan. He had stopped running, electricity swirling dangerously on his fingers when the wave him, instantly knocking him flat on his feet. Four lean men bent down and grabbed him before he could react, binding his wrists in the same way Shalimar's were. He fought them every step of the way.

Shalimar's head swiveled around behind him, but Emma had disappeared. Her head snapped back around, crying out in anger as one of the men kicked Brennan's legs out from under him, and he hit the ground hard.

"Adam—"

Her words were abruptly cut off when pain, unlike anything she'd ever felt before, radiated out from her nerve centers, shaking her like a rag doll before she fell to her knees in agony. Just as suddenly, the pain dissipated, and her arms were yanked up and above her head before she could breathe. Spots danced before her eyes, barely focusing as sharp teeth flashed in her face, foul breath nearly making her gag. She lifted her chin in defiance, refusing to flinch when she was slapped. Something tugged again on the binding around her fists, and she was pulled up on tiptoe. Her face twisted as her bindings were tightened, wrists burning from the pinching of the rope and the angle they were forced into above her head. _Stupid, they were stupid_, She shook her head at the thought, smiling. They were using rope she could easily break. She bared her teeth, muscles tensing, when another shimmering block of air punched her, following by searing shots of pain. Her whole body vibrated with shock, and she bit back the scream of pain, moaning instead.

The sound woke Brennan up, his head aching from where he had struck it. He vaguely remembered falling before he next remembered Shalimar, and shot back up, only to be brought up short.  
"What the—"

It took him a moment to realize he was hog-tied, arms and legs bent behind his back, hands and feet strung together. He grunted, pulling, only to arch his back, a stone digging roughly into his stomach. He wildly careened his head over his shoulder, finally spotting Shalimar.

She was mostly hanging from her tied wrists, which were bound to a rope that was attached to a branch ten feet above her head. The tips of her shoes scraped into the dusty ground as she tried to gain better footing. Her pink t-shirt, stained red and dirt-covered, rode high up her stomach as the men surrounded her, like wolves to the prey.

They didn't even bother with him.

They must have figured he wasn't much of a challenge. He growled lowly, struggling ineffectively against the ties that bound him. _Damn it. Where were the others?_ He couldn't activate his ring from his angle, trying instead to pull his hands and feet free.

_Brennan, wait. _

The impression formed in his mind like spoken words, an image of him patiently waiting, and he immediately knew it was Emma. He could feel her, stretching toward the edge of his mind, but he stubbornly shook his head, eyes darkening with impatience. He didn't have time to wait. Shalimar moaned again, and the sound infuriated him. He struggled anew, hearing Shalimar calling to him, but her actual words didn't register. Emma probed again, but he pushed her out, mind closing down around two thoughts as he stretched his hands and feet as far apart as he could, finger bending painfully backwards to aim a shot of electricity at the rope binding him together like an animal. _He had to help Shalimar. He had to free her._ The rope sizzled, electricity grazing his boot, and he felt a snap, the fried rope giving easily. His legs collapsed to the ground, arms falling over his head, and he gasped, pushing himself into a seating position. Another well-aimed blast loosened the rope around his ankles, and he staggered to his feet, hands still bound.

But he didn't care.

Two of the men, armed with large sticks, stepped in front of him, blocking his path. Brennan pushed them out of his way.

Whack!

The sensation of pain didn't register until after he heard the smack of the branch against his lower back. The shock hit him hard, and he toppled face first into the ground. Pin pricks of water stung his eyes. Again, he felt Emma attempting to reach him. In front of him, Shalimar twisted like a shirt on a clothes line. With newfound strength, Brennan managed to pull himself onto all fours, taking a crawling step, only to be slammed hard and low against his back, and went down a second time. He could hear Shalimar's screams of outrage echoing inside his whirling head. The sound of her voice spurred him on. He had to help her... Seconds later, he tried to move again, only to be struck a third time.

"No!" He could hear Shalimar begging now, twisting against her ties, teeth gritting as her body suddenly vibrated with pain.

_Brennan, wait! _

Emma's command came again, more forcefully, but Shalimar's whimpers colored him blind. He pushed against the intrusion in his mind, but Emma fought back this time, flooding him with stronger images. She was grabbing his face, forcing him to focus on the man poised just behind Shalimar, ready to strike if she pulled against her binds. Another man, watching Brennan with an evil grin, ready to pummel him if he so much as took a step toward her again. _Don't do this Brennan, it's not helping her. It's what they want._ She was right. He stopped struggling; face dropping into the dirt with a ragged gasp. It was only a sick game to them.

Playing with their prey.

Helpless rage filled him, even as he felt Emma hit him with soothing emotion. His body gave in, muscles unclenching and relaxing, but it was a false calm, darkness cracking the surface, anger gnashing its teeth in furious outrage against the abyss. His anger should have sparked an answering temper from her. He would have welcomed it. But the feelings that roiled in his stomach were a twisting mass of heavy gray and ice cold. Fear wrapped formless fingers around his heart and the emotion that next shifted within him was far too terrifying to even be called rage anymore. It hungered, it desired. It held every alarm, every night terror that woke him screaming in the darkness. All compressed into a hard, seething mass of dread and desperation.

The shift of emotion disappeared as fast as it came, but it left him trembling in terror.

For all his raging frustration and anger, it hadn't come from him.

It came from Emma.

Shalimar bit back a bitter cry of triumph when finally Brennan stopped moving. She vaguely heard the man behind her command her to call him, nudging her roughly, and her voice was tight as she heard herself force words past numb lips. They clawed their way past the rocks in her throat, as she twisted toward the man behind her.

"Go to hell."

She stared into the face of disbelief and could only wait for it to tear her loose from her bindings and carry her screaming into the abyss waiting behind her. She peeled back her lips in challenge, but her words were never heard.

With a cry of pain, seven men fell to their knees.

With a whimper of fear, seven men pitched face first into the dirt, unconscious.

And for a brief moment, the world stopped moving

Then Brennan staggered back to his feet, and Shalimar shook herself awake, easily breaking the rope that bound her with a decisive snap. The sound brought satisfaction, even as she stared at the man at her feet in horrific wonder. He didn't move even when she nudged him with her toe.

"Shalimar!"

Brennan's voice, hoarse with fear, brought out the outrage, and she gave a solid kick for good measure.

Brennan winced as he saw where her foot landed, drawing up alongside her, hands still bound together as he pressed them into his aching side. "Remind me again, never to let you get mad at me," He quipped, chest heaving as he sucked in ragged breaths.

"Idiot." Her hands shook as she ripped the rope from his wrists.

He gave a gasp of relief as the bonds gave way, hands clutching her shoulders as she pushed into his arms. "Are you ok?" He finally spoke, fingers stiff as he raked them through her tangled hair. She nodded against his shoulder, pulling away far too soon for his liking. He blinked, remembering, looking apprehensively around. "What happened?"

"Brennan! Shalimar!" Adam's voice interrupted them, running to them as fast as he could with a partially collapsed Emma propped against his shoulder.

"Emma!" Shalimar rushed to meet them, catching the psionic as her head rolled against Adam's side. "Adam, what happened?" Their mentor shook his head, at a loss for words, and Shalimar blinked in surprise. She had never seen him so rattled. "Adam?"

Brennan took Emma from him, easily swinging her up into his arms, staring at her, expression unreadable.

"She'll be fine," Adam brushed strands of red hair behind her ear. "She just needs to rest."

"She did this, didn't she." Brennan indicated the collapsed men with his chin, eyes dark, still feeling shivers from the hungering anger she had shown him.

Adam hesitated, nodding. "By the time I got here and landed the helix, Jesse had disappeared, following after our seller. I saw both of you immediately, but it took me a moment to find Emma." His hand cupped her head. "She was on her knees, face contorted with such intense concentration. It took me a moment to understand what she was doing, but by the time I got to her, it was too late. She had already done it." His hand dropped limply to his side, staring past her at the fallen men. "Are they dead?"

"No." Shalimar's words seemed to relieve him, and he nodded slowly.

"Adam, I didn't know Emma had that kind of power." Brennan back stared down at her face, her eyes had already begun to flutter, strength returning to her tired limbs.

"Neither did I." They almost missed his whispered response, exchanging silent glances, heavy with awareness.

Adam's sigh broke the silence. "We need to find Jesse."

Shalimar closed her eyes, lifting her face into the air, opening them a moment later, smiling. "I can find him."

"Good." Adam's voice continued, but his words were suddenly droned out, mouth moving, but no sound registering.

Shalimar froze, heart stopping then pounding in her chest in painful recognition, flinching when she heard his voice.

_I'm disappointed in you, I expected better. _

"What do you want?" She whirled around with an angry cry, but only saw Adam and Brennan, moving as if in slow-motion, Brennan's knees bending to set Emma back on her feet.

_All along, all this time, you thought they wanted you. _

"I said, what do you want?" She gritted her teeth, seeing Emma's feet finally touch the ground, each motion in half time as they slowly moved, unaware.

_You were just the bait. But you should have known. _

Violet eyes flashed merrily before her, circling around her in ever increasing circles until she fell dizzy to her knees.

_The prey Shalimar, you forgot the prey. _

Her heart thumped in horror, the sound around her rushing into her ears, overwhelming her as time returned, painfully loud. _Too much_. She clutched her head, groaning. Voices, footsteps, rustling leaves…whirling, confusing, hurting. She whimpered as it intensified all around her, a deluge of white noise, building, increasing, sucking into one sudden, final, powerful bang.

Her head shot up, her terrified whisper loud in the crushing silence.

"Jesse."


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer—See Chapter One

A/N: As you may have noticed, this story is more character based than Traveling Souls was, which was more action based. I still have a lot of action planned, but you'll see more attempts at character development as well. That was my challenge to myself in this one! If you'll also recall, Traveling Souls took place immediately before episode 222 and this story picks up where the first left off so I am also weaving in elements from 222 and 301, loosely following the episode timelines, but changing certain events and of course creating new ones. Huge thanks to all of you for your comments and encouragement! Thank you so much Tunder28, Marie Crosby, Mxfan214, Courtney! Ana, Mayra, CatJerica, thank you for sharing your thoughts and guesses. I love reading them! Kitty Invictus, thank you for noticing the dreams and my comments in chapter one! Rain, I'll do my best to keep you guessing. Thank you! Adele, thank you so much. There won't be action in every chapter, but I do have a lot planned. I hope you will keep reading! Thank you all so much! Here's a long chapter for you, I hope you enjoy!

Traveling On—Chapter Six

He was being followed.

The sensation had been increasing steadily the further he ran from the others. Jesse hoped his shadow was not the mountain of a man that had stepped from the second car, the one their seller had seen and run away from.

But somehow he doubted he would be so lucky.

The man ahead of him was weaving erratically, moving in blind panic, and he cursed under his breath when the man suddenly turned, looping back around in the direction of his car.

And right towards whoever was following him.

He turned, about to call into his comlink for back-up when a sudden, burning pain tore along his cheekbone. His involuntary gasp sucked in a mouthful of rolling sweat with a copper tang. He disbelievingly raised his hand to his cheek even as instinct sent his body to the forest floor. Blood. He dragged his hand forward and stared at it long enough to confirm he was not dreaming.

Someone had a rifle with a sound compressor.

Before thought could be completed, he was up and running through the underbrush. Instinct and training kept him low and to the forest shadows. Knowledge kept him from massing. The shot had come from an upward angle. Whoever was shooting had him pinned like a sitting duck.

And he could only hold his breath for so long.

And if he had not turned his head when he had, that bullet might have gone through his skull.

Distance was his only chance, he had to get away. He chanced a quick glance over his shoulder, but could not see the seller anywhere. He only hoped he hadn't been hit.

The others.

He had to warn them. He only hoped that they would somehow hear, somehow get out of sight, and then waste this bastard. Agony exploded deep in his chest, and he stumbled, mind shrieking at him that he'd been shot. Pain slammed against his spinal column and he had a spinning impression of trees and rocks before his feet went out from under him and everything went black.

Something was wrong.

Shalimar shifted uneasily, staring into the greenery of the tree line, a sudden shift of panic sweeping in out of nowhere. Tension coiled tighter, and she suddenly found herself straining forward, staring out into the wooded acres, needing to find him. It occurred to her after a moment that she wasn't moving, and she looked down to see Brennan's hand wrapped around her arm, holding her back. She met his gaze, and he studied her intensely for a moment.

Something flickered in her eyes.

Brennan's grip opened and her arm slipped through his fingers.

She ignored the calls of the others, beginning to walk. Not too fast. Not even certain.

"Shalimar!"

Adam's call mixed with Emma's soft answer.

"Jesse's hurt."

She heard his name, remembering, realizing, suddenly sure. In her peripheral vision she was aware of Brennan moving like a silent shadow into a flanking position opposite Emma. She turned her head once to look at him, but he was watching the trees around them. The beat of their footsteps merged with hers, quickening her pace as she lengthened her stride and pulled ahead. Even on their best day, Brennan and Emma would not have been able to keep up. Injured, they didn't stand a chance.

The forest swallowed her whole.

Distantly, Shalimar felt her body hurtling along rocky ridges and slide down hillsides. Without volition, her body twisted and skimmed past a fallen tree and up another rocky trail. Her feet knew the path her eyes could not see. If she allowed herself to think, she wouldn't know; if she allowed herself to reason, he would die. The thought haunted her, convicted her, and so she denied pain and logic, and she ran.

She let her pack fall from her shoulders. The leaves whispered softly to themselves and parted gently, leaving gaps and holes for her to slide through, telling her to hurry.

She ran, smelling blood.

"Jesse!"

Shalimar's cry cut through the shadows and three heads jerked in recognition, forcing exhausted limbs to keep going. She called his name again, and Emma felt his answer rip from the bottom of her soul.

"Jesse!" Emma's agonized cry mimicked Shalimar's, and she fell to her knees, straining to keep the connection, bombarding Shalimar with images even as she whispered soothingly back to him.

_Baby, I'm here. _

Brennan ran past her into a small clearing, just in time to see Shalimar disappear. He cursed, her outstretched body burning itself into his brain as she hurtled herself into the air. He staggered forward, determined to follow.

It was Adam who stopped Brennan from going over the edge of the ravine.

Shalimar had jumped. Signs of a body under motion traced itself in the hillside, and the team was left behind, staring over an edge they could not follow.

Shalimar found him in a small cave.

Dragging herself into the tiny hollow, her entire attention was focused on only one thing. Collapsing next to his body, she placed a shaking hand on his throat.

Alive.

The slow thud of Jesse's heart echoed in her mind, and it was several seconds before she realized the smell of blood mocked her relief. Something let go; instinct allowed reason to take over, and with quick fingers she ripped open his shirt. The blackness of the blood made her sway in fright, hearing the gurgle of froth in his mouth. _No, no, no, not his_ _lungs_. Her hands hesitated over his chest, unsure what to do. The wound itself was deceptively small. _Pressure._ She tore his shirt, applying a makeshift bandage, calling her team, curling her body around his uninjured side to lend warmth as she settled down to wait.

It had been too close.

Brennan couldn't shake the feeling that haunted him, pacing impatiently outside the lab. The time it had taken to get Jesse out of the forest and back to Sanctuary had passed in a blur. By the time they had returned to the sparse woods along the side of the road, both cars had been gone and all seven unconscious men had been removed. Emma's concentration was Jesse, refusing to leave him. Shalimar clung stubbornly to his body, unwilling to let him go, and even now as Brennan met her reflection through the glass, he felt a yawning abyss shatter the distance between them.

Guilt flared as his eyes dropped, and she glanced away before he would be forced to respond to the regret in his own.

It had been too damn close.

The whispering swish of air as the lab door was swept open brought him back to awareness. He had lost track of the time they had been waiting, but he crossed anxiously over to Adam as he stepped through the door.

"Well?"

He felt Shalimar step up next to him from behind.

Adam sighed tiredly, and Brennan's eyes darted quickly back through the glass where Emma was holding the molecular's hand, reassuring himself that Jesse was still alive.

Adam waited for his gaze to return, nodding at both of them. "I managed to heal the damage to his right lung, and there are no signs of secondary infection. He won't be running any marathons for a while, but the scarring is minimal, he will be back to full capacity in no time." Adam turned back around to look at the molecular through the glass, Brennan and Shalimar stepping up to either side of him. "His ribs will be sore for a while, but they appear to be knitting solidly and even the bruising is already subsiding." Adam placed a gentle hand on the feral's shoulder. "You did a good job, Shalimar."

She made a keening noise in the back of her throat, staying silent.

"Adam," Brennan smiled slightly as he watched Emma press a tender kiss against Jesse's slack lips, turning around to give her some privacy. "Since when does Eckhart deal with guns anyway?"

"He doesn't." Shalimar's dry whisper interrupted whatever Adam had been about to say. "It was him, that psionic was there again, and he used it to send a message."

"Which was what?" Brennan frowned, not understanding.

Shalimar pulled away from Adam's touch, pacing a few angry steps down the hall before turning back to face them. Her eyes flashed dangerously, and her voice held a dark bite. "That he's hunting us."

"What kind of sick game are they up to now?" Brennan banged an angry fist against the glass.

Shalimar tried to tell herself she was just tired. That they were all just too tired. But one thought kept bombarding her.

She had failed.

Again.

She used her fingertips to scrub the bone between her eyes with painful harshness. Hard enough to hold back the traitorous tears that burned and itched at the bridge of her nose. Too many moments of distraction. Too many nights staring at the ceiling. Too many nightmares, too many dreams of what might be.

Too many maybes.

Maybe she was losing it. Maybe she wanted too much. Maybe she had gotten too arrogant, too old, too careless, too blinded. Maybe she wanted something that did not exist. Could not exist. Maybe she needed to get it back together before somebody got killed. She swung around, only to be brought up short.

"Shal…don't."

Brennan's body was abruptly blocking her path. Long fingers closed over her shoulders tightly. She couldn't help it, she glared at him.

"It's not your fault."

She wanted to argue, to scream, to howl in outrage, but it was suddenly too much effort to lift her head. She narrowed her eyes, but the hall focused in and out of her vision, Brennan's body a large blur.

"I think she's crashing, Brennan."

Adam's voice worked its way back into her fuzzy brain.

"Crashing?" Brennan's voice rising in panic.

"Can you walk?" Adam staying calm.

She curled her lip in disdain. Of course she could walk. She had just outrun them all. She could always walk. She took a step to prove it, and fell. As Brennan caught her, the world spun in a sickening mass of green and gray. As darkness closed around her, she held to the brief hope that at least she didn't hit the ground. And then she remembered no more as blackness washed over.

Between one breath and the next, she awakened to find herself immersed in a world of bubbles, white coconut scented bubbles. Huge mounds of the stuff were dissolving slowly and from the look of the fabric covered legs hemming her in, Brennan had climbed into the tub with her, shirt, jeans and all. Arms wrapped tightly around her waist kept her head above water, and he had fallen asleep.

She listened to him breathe.

The water was still lukewarm, and her hair smelled faintly of shampoo. Her wrists stung from rope burn, and a general underlying ache hinted at many bruises. She lay still a moment, eyes closed, before sighing, easing herself out of Brennan's hold without disturbing him.

There was no sign of her clothes.

She felt exposed, vulnerable, grabbing the first thing she found, Brennan's bathrobe hanging on the back of the door. She chanced a glance at him, but he lay motionless. She shoved her arms into the robe, quickly wrapping it around her wet body. Another glance told her he still hadn't moved. With familiarity she didn't even recognize, she made quick work of using his things, brushing her teeth and combing out her tangled hair. She was stiff, unbelievably so, and she paused, seeing her reflection in the mirror. She debated a moment before shrugging, drawing the robe off her shoulders and twisting so she could examine the ugly bruise spreading across her shoulder and upper back. It was painful, but already healing, so she knew Adam must have examined her as well. She pulled the robe back on, tying the belt securely around her waist, smiling faintly as she held out her hands and the sleeves extended well beyond the tips of her fingers. Sometimes she almost forgot how big Brennan really was. She pushed the loose sleeves back up to her elbows, making her way back to the side of the tub. Still Brennan slept, and she knelt down, regarding him quietly, wondering just how out of it she must have been to miss being examined by Adam, being brought back to Brennan's room. He must have carried her. She flushed, looking down at herself as she realized she had also missed being undressed and shampooed. Somewhere in there, he had also cleaned the dirt, tree sap, and blood from the tiles and disposed of her clothes. She folded her arms on the side of the tub and rested her chin, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest. His wet clothes clung to him, and she knew it must be uncomfortable.

He had stayed clothed.

The thought took away her embarrassment, and she smiled at the gallant touch. For all his outward talk and incessant flirting, Brennan was an honorable man. She knew he must have been worried about her, her well-being foremost on his mind as he cleansed and cared for her. She remembered his gentle touch when she had been sick, and a wave of love for the man before her overwhelmed her in its strength. Just as strong, she felt the backlash of fear claw up her throat, choking her with its hold, and she groaned, pressing trembling fingers over her lips.

There was always another mission, another monster, another form of darkness just around the corner. When would it all end? She could be his teammate, she could watch his back as she watched all their backs. That was easy. There were times when she thought that was all she had been born to do. It was so much harder to be more, to be the woman he thought he saw, looking at her. There were times when the look in his eyes terrified her. With his chocolate brown eyes, soldier's heart, and poet's soul. The wonder in his eyes as he looked at her….that was the hard part. She was afraid that the day would come when he would want too much. When she wouldn't be strong enough to give what was being asked of her. As much as she longed for it, for them to be together, for some semblance of normal, she was also afraid. She had grown up a fighter, she was used to that, but love demanded so much more. Opening up to love meant opening up to hurt. And opening up to distractions. And distractions meant potential failure. She frowned, fingers falling limply back to her lap. Lost innocence, shattered illusions. Their path was not an easy one.

"Shal…don't."

She heard Brennan's words repeated in her mind, mildly surprised when she looked and found his eyes open, frowning as he watched her, reading her a little too well.

"What happened today wasn't your fault."

His eyes were tense as he begged her to believe him. For that reason only, she kept her voice even when all she wanted to do was scream. She sighed, breaking eye contact. "I should have been paying better attention."

The water sloshed noisily as Brennan abruptly stood to his feet. "Damn it, Shalimar, stop blaming yourself for everything. You know it's not true." Lukewarm water ran down his arms, splashing eerily back into the tub.

She stood as well. "So what do you want me to say?" Her eyes were cold when they looked up at him. "That it's all your fault?"

His jaw flexed, voice tight. "Of course not. No one is to blame for what happened out there."

"Tell that to Jesse." She laughed mirthlessly. "Whose fault is it going to be, Brennan? The next time?"

When the cost was too high.

He had a sudden flashback to his dream. The look in her eyes now reminded him painfully of how she had looked at him then. His jaw flexed. "Shalimar…you don't have eyes in the back of your head." He reached for her, but she shrugged off his hand.

"Yeah, but I'm supposed to have two in front." She could see the protest leap to his lips, but he bit it back. She expected frustration to follow, and she watched him. What she got was uncertainty and an unexpected flash of apprehension. Then he pulled back into himself so far she lost sight of him. She felt her lips form his name in surprise. He stared at her, unreadable deliberations flirting behind shaded eyes as he stepped out of the tub, brushing past her.

"Brennan, wait." Her voice trembled, fearful, uncertain. Brennan having second thoughtsMaybe. Something lifted its head from the other side of the abyss and regarded her with calculated eyes.

Maybe not. She forced the doubt away, suddenly angry with herself anew. She was letting her fear of what could have happened destroy something that had just barely begun, the very same thing she had accused Brennan of doing back in the cave.

He had stopped at the door, one hand on the knob, cold water puddling at his feet. He shifted, tensing when she came up behind him, resting her hands on his broad back. His shirt clung to him, muscles rippling as he straightened.

"I'm sorry." She pressed her lips between his shoulder blades, reaching her hand out and gently pulling his away from the door knob.

He stilled, quietly twining their fingers together for a moment. "I understand what you're feeling, Shal, I do. But I thought we'd already decided all this, that the risk was worth it."

"I know." She leaned into his back, not caring about the dampness soaking into her robe.

"We can set all the rules in the world, but they mean nothing if you're going to blame everything that goes wrong on yourself, on us." His voice was quiet, tense. "We can't keep doing this, Shal."

He turned, and she reached her hand up around the back of his neck, pulling his lips down to hers.

"Shalimar—" He groaned her name against her lips, turning his head slightly.

"Yeah, I know." She let her arms drop from his neck, catching his wrist instead, pulling his hand up to her face. "I'm sorry." She kissed his palm, feeling the shudder that ran through him. His eyes focused on hers, and he gently brushed a stray hair from her forehead, drawing his hand down her face. She held eye contact, turning her face into his hand, kissing his palm again; once, twice, three times.

Brennan shook his head, eyes dark, pulling her face closer to him, kissing her on the lips, gently at first, then more passionately. She tugged on his wet shirt until he broke the kiss, yanking it over his head. She smiled approvingly, wrapping her arms around him tightly, and he turned them, lifting her up against the wall, her legs wrapping around him. Her robe parted, and his hands slipped underneath, holding her up by her thighs. He felt her tremble, reason returning, and he gentled the kiss, easing back. She whimpered when he broke the kiss again, and he smiled, resting her weight against the wall as his hands lifted and touched her face, his fingertips light on her cheek. They stared at one another, his eyes dark in the dim light. With a start, she realized the day had almost passed.

His fingers traced across her cheeks and nose, and she closed her eyes at his touch. "I should have asked you this first," He whispered, waiting until her eyes opened before continuing. "How are you feeling?"

"A little sore," She admitted, "But I'm fine, I'm good."

"Your back," He suddenly realized he was pressing their weight onto her bruised shoulder. He grunted in chagrin, carefully lowering her back to the floor.

"It's ok," She was quick to alleviate the guilt in his eyes. "I didn't even feel it." She admitted with a grin.

She saw relief flash through his eyes, changing to something unreadable. "I was scared today, Shal." He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, and they stared at each other. The moment stretched. His eyes were so deep, so familiar; she felt a pang of tenderness so strong it almost hurt.

"Me too." Her voice was husky.

He drew her across the space between them, fingers spreading out over her head, tucking her under his chin. With his other arm, he cradled her against his chest.

She welcomed the hug, laying still, her cheek on his heart, shutting her eyes and letting herself relax into the warmth of his skin, adjusting her breathing to the rise and fall of his chest. She let her mind empty of everything but his heart pounding under her ear and his fingers in her hair. All her unresolved feelings started to dissolve as her senses filled with him, the last bit of tension slipping out of her shoulder and back until her bones were melting into his. She wasn't going to think about tomorrow, or next week, or…whatever. She was just going to stand here, absorbing the rhythm of his body.

For a while, she didn't move until his fingers grew still. She tilted her head to look at his face. His eyes were still open, looking down, past her face.

She followed his gaze.

The neck of her robe had fallen open, exposing creamy skin. She let out her breath with a tiny rush, looking back up to meet his eyes. The expression in his was uncertain.

"Shal, about earlier…" He broke off, gesturing to the bathtub behind them. It was still filled with water, bubbles long evaporated. "I didn't—it wasn't---"

"Shh, I know." She silenced him, fingers against his lips.

His eyes searched hers, before nodding. His gaze dropped back down to her damp robe, looking resigned. "We should get you to the lab, Adam said he would finish taking care of your shoulder once you got some rest."

She sighed, nodding, indicating his wet jeans. "We should get dressed."

"Yeah." His mouth twitched, hands gentle on her shoulder for a brief moment before turning and walking out into his bedroom. He left the door open, padding back in after a moment, a bundle of clothes in his arms. "I wasn't sure what you'd want."

She smiled gratefully, accepting the clothes, waiting until he backed out again to look over the jeans and shirt he'd picked out for her. She was curious to know what he'd selected from her closet, smiling as she shook out the jeans and red lace undergarments tumbled to the floor. She chuckled, rolling her eyes at his selection. Trust Brennan to pick out her most revealing pair. She dressed quickly, pausing in front of the mirror, eyes drawn inexplicitly through the open door. She could see him through the mirror, pulling on a dry pair of jeans over his lean hips.

He seemed to sense her gaze, stilling, lifting his eyes and staring back at her reflection, eyes sliding slowly over her from head to toe. Every inch of her skin that his gaze caressed began to burn. Their eyes met in the mirror, smiling in understanding.

_Later._

The lab was quiet when Shalimar entered, wincing as Adam used the dermal regenerator as gently as he could. Jesse was stirring, Emma sleeping in exhaustion, slumped in a chair next to him.

"How are they?" Shalimar spoke softly.

"They'll be fine, they just need to rest." Adam clicked his tongue in satisfaction a moment later. "There, done." He arched an eyebrow. "I suppose I would be wasting my breath telling you to do the same."

She chuckled, pausing to press a kiss to his cheek before making her way over to Jesse. The molecular's eyes opened as she approached.

"Hey," Her steps were quiet as she stepped up on the other side of him, careful not to disturb Emma. "How are you feeling?"

"Been better," Jesse groaned softly, pushing up into a sitting position. "How about you? Adam told me what they did to you and Brennan."

"Don't worry about me," She shrugged off his concern, "You just concentrate on getting better."

Jesse nodded, eyes straying to Emma as she moaned in her sleep. "I tried to get her to go to bed, but she wouldn't leave."

"I'm not surprised." Shalimar grinned. "She's tougher than we give her credit for sometimes."

"Yeah," Jesse sobered slightly. "Adam told me what she did as well."

"She saved us." Shalimar firmly interjected.

Jesse nodded. "I think maybe she was afraid to tell us how powerful she's become." He eyed Shalimar for a moment. "I also think she's not the only one afraid of something."

"Jess—" Shalimar stiffened at the change of subject, glancing away.

"Shalimar," Jesse eased back down onto the bed, his voice strong and comforting. "We can't always be prepared for what life throws our way. Sometimes you just have to take things as they come, not over analyze them."

"Yeah, I know." She raised her brows. "Brennan's been basically telling me the same thing."

"How are things with you two?"

"Hey, Jess, aren't you supposed to be resting?" She half-heartedly countered, falling silent when he refused to be swayed. "I…I love him, Jess. I know I do, but…it's just really hard."

"Yeah, I know." Jesse held eye contact. "Change is hard, loving someone is hard. Sometimes…sometimes you don't know where you stand or what tomorrow will bring." He glanced over at Emma, hand running through her red hair as she slept with her head leaning against the bed. "But I'm learning that's also part of the beauty of it."

Shalimar watched as his fingers played with a strand of Emma's hair, blinking away the tears that suddenly clogged in the back of her throat.

"Shalimar," Jesse's eyes were on her once more. "I know that getting close to someone makes you feel vulnerable, and that you hate feeling that way. But I'm telling you, sometimes vulnerability isn't such a bad thing. You may feel weaker at first, but when you're vulnerable to one person; it helps you be a whole lot stronger when facing the rest of the world."

She shook her head, eyes closing.

"You know who taught me that?" Jesse's hand fell on her shoulder as he cautiously leaned back up. "You did."

The tears did come then, filling her eyes despite her effort to stop them. She swallowed hard, nodding jerkily, understanding what he was saying. "Thanks, Jess." Emma stirred again, and Shalimar abruptly straightened. "I'll leave you two alone." Her hand was whisper soft on his shoulder, gone before he could respond.

"Jesse?"

"Hey, you're awake." Jesse's heart sped up as Emma turned her beautiful eyes onto him. He sat up, gingerly swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, facing her.

"Careful," She sprang from her chair, catching him when he would have fallen.

"I'm ok," Jesse gasped, leaning into her heavily, sinking back down onto the bed.

"Uh-huh," Emma snorted dryly. "You're forgetting who you're talking to, I know you're hurting, so don't deny it."

"That's not fair," Jesse grumbled, grimacing as he lay back down on the bed.

She smiled, bending over him. "Besides, you're supposed to be resting."

"So everyone keeps reminding me." Jesse caught her hands in his, tugging her down, framing her face. "Emma, I know doing mental battle with those mutants left you exhausted, you should be resting as well."

"Shh, no. I'm not leaving, so don't even try to make me." She shook her head. "Besides, I'm right where I want to be." She caught his lips in a gentle kiss, swallowing any further protest.

The night was quiet, dreamless, and the following day dawned before they felt ready for it. It was a tired group that gathered for breakfast, Jesse refusing to stay in bed any longer. When Adam entered the room, they looked up, immediately recognizing his look.

"What is it, Adam?" Emma spoke up, hand falling protectively on Jesse's knee beneath the table.

"I've been going over the surveillance from yesterday," Adam looked uncharacteristically excited. "I only got a distance glimpse, but I recognized our seller as an old colleague of mine. I made contact, and he's agreed to give us the list."

"What?" Shalimar's spoon clattered back to her plate, loud in the silence. "You're kidding."

Brennan's brows rose. "He's going to hand it over, just like that?"

"He's been on the run from Eckhart, I promised him our protection in return." Adam rested his palms flat on the table, leaning forward. "This is the break we've been looking for."

"So do we know what's on this list?" Jesse's face was pale with pain, but determined to be involved.

"You should still be in bed," Adam paused to reprimand the molecular before nodding to the others. "I know it contains medical records, but have not determined in what capacity. What we do know is that Eckhart is determined to get his hands on these records, and we need to know why."

"What are you thinking?" Shalimar recognized the gleam in his eye."I'm thinking we beat him at his own game, that we be the ones setting him up this time."

"You want to stage another meet?" Emma glanced at Jesse.

"Exactly." Adam pointed at the psionic, smiling around the table. "But this time, we'll be posing as the seller."

"Won't Eckhart's goons recognize us?" Brennan cast a doubtful look at their mentor.

"Eckhart's agents have been advised that you are now working with the seller and have the list, and that if any further harm comes to any of you, the deal is off."

"It might work." Shalimar spoke up after a moment.

"I'm going." Jesse stood to his feet, hands clutching the back of his chair.

"Jesse, no." Emma immediately shook her head.

"I'm going." Jesse's voice bode no argument, jaw clenched. "This time it's personal." He locked eyes with Brennan.

The elemental nodded in understanding. "I'm going with you then."

Emma frowned, but didn't argue further. "Shalimar and I will be right behind you then too."

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Jesse flashed her a grin.

"It's settled then." Adam turned. "Either way, we end this thing once and for all."

"Hey Adam?" Shalimar called after him. "The seller, what's his name?"

Adam paused, glancing over his shoulder, expression inscrutable as he disappeared from sight. "Dr. Richard Haines."

What happened next defied logic. The meet should have been simple. They should have had the upper hand. But even as they watched it back on the flex scan that had been fixed to Brennan's forehead, they still couldn't believe it.

Super mutants.

Made to order.

Dr.Haines getting killed in the crossfire, the list seemingly dying with him.

Brennan's mind whirling as he tossed restlessly in bed.

Adam voice, gravely reminding them that he wasn't the only scientist working on the genetic code.

The list.

Brennan sat straight up in bed, heart pounding, suddenly remembering.

A doctor's voice, playing from a bronzed statue of a wizened tree, whispering in urgency.

Beside him, Shalimar was locked in her own tableau, reliving another childhood dream that wasn't her own. A lanky dark-haired little boy, small sparks of electricity dancing on his fingers, glancing both ways and meeting the smiling faces of his friends as he boosted his first car at ten years old. A tow-haired leader and a small round face with owlishly large eyes; his friends surrounding him, clapping him on the back in boyish excitement. Their first walk on the wild side. She rolled restlessly in her sleep.

Brennan slowly lay back down, only to shoot back up a second time as bright light flooded the room. He squinted, blinking, turning toward Shalimar, freezing when he found himself alone. Not again. In the rush of their mission, he had almost forgotten about his dream. He hadn't expected to live it again. He tiptoed to his door, peering out. Sure enough, there she was, the strange woman with long dark hair who had been in his room.She sat at the computer, Jesse across from her.

_"So Adam was a mad scientist, huh?"_

_"Sometimes people let their obsessions drive them to do more harm than good."_

_"Is that why you left him, you didn't trust him any more?"_

_"Maybe."_

What the hell?

He drew back at their words, eyes closing when he heard Shalimar call his name, tired, angry.

"Brennan."

He turned slowly, wincing at the stark difference of the thin woman standing before him.

"Hey." He nodded uncertainly, noticing she was wearing her jacket. "You going out?"

She shrugged, chin lifting slightly.

He shifted, leaning his hip against the door frame, trying to look casual, trying to understand. "Why don't we go out, get some dinner?" She didn't even smile, turning to leave after a heavy pause of silence. "Shal, wait—" He called after her, not even knowing what he was going to say. He was desperate to get her to stay, to find out what was going on.

All at once she turned, stalking back toward him. "This isn't working." She met his eyes directly for the first time.

"What?" He straightened from the door.

"This." Her shrug included the entire mountain.

"This? What?" He struggled to follow.

"Us."

He froze. "Us? What—"

"I think we need to spend some time apart."

He stared at her warily.

She stared warily back.

He licked his lips, clearing his throat. "How much time?"

She didn't answer.

His stomach twisted, heart slamming painfully, voice husky. "Why are you doing this?"

He jumped when she suddenly leaned forward, angry. "How the hell can you ask me that, Brennan? After everything that's happened?" She slammed one hand into the doorframe near his head, then bent her head, resting it against her arm, eyes closed. Finally she lifted her head and looked at him, eyes bleak. "I can't do this anymore."

"Shal…"

She stared at him, shaking her head. "I want this over with, now."

Frustration boiled over, and he raised his chin, eyes narrowing. "Over? Damn it, Shalimar, I don't even know what is going on here." He swallowed, throat tight. Her eyes, her eyes were breaking his heart. The expression in them…half defensive, half paralyzed with grief…fear. His mouth opened, then closed. "Shal—"

"What?" The anger was suddenly gone from her voice, the exhaustion back in her stance.

He gestured aimlessly, struggling to understand. _Was he still dreaming?_ He only knew one thing. She was about to walk away from him. "Please don't leave." His heart constricted as she leaned into him, eyes hooded. "I love you." The whispered words were torn from his chest.

There was a heavy pause, and then a small, painful smile flitted across her mouth. "I love you too." She swallowed convulsively, running a light hand across his stubbled cheek, hating the desperation in his eyes. Abruptly, her hand dropped. "But it isn't enough." Agony vibrated between them as her fingers pressed into his for a brief moment, cold metal brushing against his skin. She backed up a step, a whisper of air escaping her lips as she turned and walked away without looking back.

His fingers shook as he lifted his hand, opening his fingers to reveal his mother's pendant necklace.

The one he hadn't given to her yet.

He didn't know how long he stood there, waiting.

Numb.

Unsure.

Waiting for the light to flood the room, waiting for his eyes to open, waiting to find himself still in bed with Shalimar.

Time ticked by.

And still he was waiting.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer—See Chapter One

A/N: It's my birthday! I had to update my profile to say late-twenties now. I'm getting old. :) I'm working on chapter nine at the moment, so am slowly making progress with this story. Still not sure how long this one will be yet, but I'm guessing around 15 chapters or so. Thank you to those sticking with me, I know interest in MX in general is dwindling and it doesn't help that this story is rather wordy and rambling. Sorry about that, I keep meaning to be more concise, but haven't quite accomplished that yet. Thank you to Tunder28, blackpanther, Mxfan214, Mayra, Rain, and Catjerica. I'm so glad you guys are still enjoying it! You make my day and give me the encouragement to keep going, thank you all so much! Angel35, thank you also for your comments! CatJerica, this chapter is for you, since you asked for more "later." :) Audrey, thank you so much for your beautiful gift for this story. You amaze me with your talent! Thank you so much! This is a heavily based B/S chapter, but the team action begins again in the next chapter. (Ana, I tried to give you at least a little J/E in this chapter!) There are again references to episodes 222 and 301 in here as well, although events are again rearranged or changed to fit my plot. I hope you enjoy. Thank you!

Traveling On—Chapter Seven

For the fourth time in as many minutes, Jesse sighed, fingers tapping impatiently against the table. He was tired, sore, and not in the mood to be sitting in front of a computer at the moment.

Emma cast an amused smile at him, easily knowing his thoughts. "Why don't you just admit you're still in pain and get some rest? I can keep working on the decoding sequence you showed me."

"I'm fine." Jesse shrugged, too stubborn to admit anything. "Besides, I'd rather be here with you." He shot her an enduring grin.

"Uh-huh," Emma quirked her brow, grinning back. "You just don't want to be in bed anymore."

"Well, there's that too."

Emma rolled her eyes, laughing; secretly glad he was staying with her. It was late; the rest of their team had already gone to bed.

"So do you really think Haines was telling the truth?" Jesse rubbed his left eyebrow, hand dropping back to the table. "That this list is of names of people and their medical records?"

"Adam seems to think so." Emma reached over, stilling his fingers as they began to drum again. "That's really annoying." She informed him when he looked at her askance.

Jesse turned his hand under hers so that their palms met, closing his fingers around hers, trapping them.

She paused in her work, throwing him a soft smile. She still wasn't quite used to the newness of being together. A simple touch and he had her weak in the knees. After a moment, she cleared her throat, gently disengaging her fingers from his to resume typing. "Without Dr. Haines to tell us more about this list, the decoded segment that Adam managed to download earlier is all we have to go off of." She paused, smiling, when Jesse stood up behind her, hands on her shoulders. "If this really is connected to Dr. Shaw's research, then we need to know who or what is on here."

"Hmm," Jesse wordlessly agreed, distracted by the softness of Emma's skin beneath his fingers as he rubbed them back and forth over the edge of her sleeveless shirt.

"And if this is somehow connected to those super mutants we ran into, then we really need to---oh." Emma paused, gasping softly as Jesse's lips began a slow trail down her neck. She arched into him, words forgotten.

"You were saying?" Jesse teased her after a moment, continuing his onslaught of kisses.

She squirmed slightly in her chair, chuckling breathlessly. "The list…we really…ah, need to know who's on here." She lifted her arms, turning in her chair to face him, pulling his face down to hers none too gently.

Jesse willingly complied, deepening the kiss when she would have pulled back. He smiled to himself when she didn't hesitate, arms rising to circle his neck as he pulled her up and out of the chair and lightly against his body, hiding the wince when his body screamed in painful reminder. He caught his breath, abruptly breaking the kiss, giving her lips another soft nudge before easing back, trying to hide his discomfort.

He should have known better.

Emma made a small distressed sound in the back of her throat, angry at herself for so carelessly forgetting. She helped him sit back down, shaking her head when he hunched over slightly, winded. "Jess—"

"Don't say it," He ground out, teeth clenched as he waited for the stabbing pain to subside. "I'm not going." He could be just as stubborn as the rest of them when he put his mind to something.

"Fine." She plopped back down in her own chair, arms crossed.

"Fine." His shoulders relaxed as the stabbing eased into a slow burn.

Brennan was tired of waiting.

There hadn't been any more bright lights; he hadn't woken up to find himself still in bed.

Fear wrapped itself around his stomach, misty fingers threatening to choke him as it clawed up into his throat. He had found himself in Shalimar's room, Emma's photo album on his knees as he waited.

Nothing was happening.

_This was a dream, wasn't it?_ Impatiently, nervously, he turned the page, sucking in a startled breath when he found it blank, mind flashing back.

Adam.

Emma.

Fallen.

Missing from this world.

He swallowed thickly, shoving the album away from him. _If this was a dream, why the hell wasn't he waking up? Was this the future?_ He groaned, bending low, bracing a hand against the desk. This couldn't be happening. Another groan sounded, and it took him a moment to realize it hadn't come from him. Footsteps, hurried and obscure, pounded past, and he recognized the clicking of Shalimar's boots. She was back. He stuck his head out the door in time to see her disappearing into Emma's room, coat falling heedlessly from her shoulders as she focused on whatever was inside. He waited a moment to see if she would come back, following after her when she didn't.

He reached the open doorway in time to see Shalimar come up behind Jesse. The molecular had his back to them, staring at Emma's neatly made bed. It looked like the psionic had just stepped out for a minute, and he half expected to hear her voice. He did not expect to see Jesse double over and fall to his knees, arms clutching his stomach and a half-strangled groan tearing itself from his throat. Shalimar collapsed beside him, arms wrapping around him, pulling him tight to her body, and he watched, frozen, helpless as they grieved for a death he could not even remember.

_It's not real!_ He wanted to scream at them, fingers clutching hotly to the door frame as knees bowed beneath him. A locked tableau, he had no idea how long he stood there.

When Shalimar finally looked up, silent tears were running down her face. _Why?_ Her expression begged him, _why?_

"What?" He licked his lips, not realizing he had whispered the word. He stepped forward, a hand on his wrist stopping him.

"They shouldn't have died in the Naxcon explosion."

It was the strange woman again, speaking quietly, holding him back.

As if he didn't have the right to share their grief.

Ignoring the unspoken warning in her eyes, Brennan yanked his wrist free and started forward, stumbling when Shalimar deliberately turned her face away, arms tightening protectively around the broken man in her arms.

_Why?_ Her expression haunted him.

"Try to understand," The woman was speaking again, and the sound of her voice grated in his ears. "If you had just followed up like you should have…"

_None of this would have happened._

The words filled his mind without her speaking them.

This time he did fall, knees giving away as he sank to the floor. Shalimar looked up, and her eyes glowed an unearthly light. It blinded him, surrounding him, and he gasped, hands blocking his eyes as the light grew stronger and stronger.

"Brennan."

A hand touched his shoulder, and he winced, shrugging it away.

"Brennan."

The hand persisted again, shaking him, and his eyes suddenly flew open, gasping when Shalimar's concerned face loomed in his vision.

The light was gone.

He sank back onto the pillow, shaking with sweat and relief, turning his face after a moment when Shalimar's hands framed his cheek, calling his name.

"Shal?"

"Yeah, it's ok, I'm here," Her hands soothed him, cool on his sweaty brow. "You were having a nightmare."

He nodded, eyes tightly closed, waiting for the tremors to cease, ashamed when they didn't. He groaned, turning his back to her and pushing himself into a sitting position, the floor mercifully cold beneath his feet. Her hands stubbornly followed him, gentle as she rolled with him, rising on her knees, arms wrapping around him from behind.

"Shh, it's ok."

The sweat cooled on his skin, bringing instead shivers as she pressed into him, softly kissing his bare shoulder. "Shalimar," He growled her name, abruptly turning, clutching fistfuls of her hair with one hand as he brought her face up to his, kissing her with desperation. The kiss quickly turned into something not quite wild, yet not quite tame either. She felt the neediness in him, and responded without hesitation.

"Is this real…are we really here?"

She didn't understand his whispered words, but she understood the pain behind them. She remembered her dreams, glimpses into some of what haunted him. He needed to feel, needed someone to help bring him out of the darkness. She could give him that much. Her mind shut down, and she focused on just the tactile feel of him.

But Brennan suddenly pulled back.

"What?" Her voice was breathless. "What is it?"

"You're not ready for this, Shalimar." His voice was husky, his head inclined towards hers, fingers relaxing their grip on her hair, pushing it behind her ears.

"What?" She could see the blatant hunger in his eyes, could sense the barely controlled need building within. She kissed him again, felt him kiss her back, suddenly angry when he again pulled away. "I didn't see you hesitating all those other times." She leaned up on her knees, towering over his sitting frame. It wasn't often she could use height to an advantage with him. She braced her hand on his shoulder, eyes flashing down at his.

He watched her a moment before seemingly coming to a decision.

She felt his hand press flat against her stomach and took in her breath sharply, suddenly aware of how close together they were.

He stayed silent, his hand moving up the middle of her abdomen.

She felt the unspoken challenge and swallowed, lifting her chin, keeping her eyes focused on his intense stare, growing breathless as she felt him unfasten the top few buttons of her shirt. Her heart pounded madly, and she trembled when his finger slipped gently inside. A sliver of fear swept over her, and the moment it struck, Brennan's hand dropped abruptly.

This time she was the one who pulled away, embarrassed, ashamed.

He had made his point.

The beeping of the computer got Emma's attention, and she spun around in her chair, glancing at the screen. Her face paled slightly, but she quickly pasted on a neutral expression when Jesse peered over the terminal at her screen.

"Did something come up?"

"It's finished decoding." Emma spoke slowly, glancing up as Adam entered the room, discreetly turning the monitor away from Jesse when his head gravitated toward the older man. "Dr. Haines was telling us the truth; it is a list of names."

Adam's shoulders stiffened imperceptibly, pausing mid-step as he glanced over at them.

"So, what does it say?" Jesse leaned back in his chair, trying to suppress a cough.

Emma lifted her head, staring intently at Adam as he walked closer to them. "There are only two names on the list."

Adam met her gaze, nodding slightly.

Emma closed out the file, face ducked to hide the expression of pain as she felt the blankness hurtling from within. But when she next raised her face a mere second later, she hid it all. She was getting used to hiding.

Shalimar desperately needed some air.

She pushed off the bed with a half-strangled sound, walking stiffly across the room. She heard Brennan call her name, but she ignored him, leaving without another word. She could feel the walls closing in tight, and increased her steps, silently slipping through the halls past the members of her team still working despite the late hour. As soon as she was outside, she ran. The pine trees, the fog, everything blurred together until she finally slowed to a walk. She found herself at the furthest edge of the beach and dropped down on her stomach into the sand. Surrounded by her own private cocoon of fog, she put her head down on her arms, refusing the tears that wanted to come.

Concentrate.

Think of something….anything else.

_The smell of the damp sand._

_Breathe it in. _

What was wrong with her?

_The wet chill of the evening air._

_Feel it on your skin. _

Why couldn't she just let Brennan love her?

Damn it.

Concentrate.

All at once she sensed him.

He didn't make a sound or touch her, but he was there.

She could feel him, stronger than the fog's clamminess on her skin.

She pressed her forehead against her wrists and didn't move.

_Breathe._

_Breathe._

His scent was there too, mixed with the salty smell of the ocean and the wet sand.

She heard a little sigh and then a faint rustle as he settled down close beside her in the sand. She could hear his breathing now, hard. She smirked. He had run a long way to find her and was out of breath.

Good.

She continued to ignore him.

Brennan watched her from the corner of his eye. In the dim moonlight, her hair was mussed, and from the part that was visible in the curtain of blonde tresses and shadowy darkness, her face was flushed with desire…fear. Her lips were pouty, swollen. She looked like she'd been kissed and kissed well, and he felt a new surge of desire and frustration to know that he had put that look on her. He forced himself to glance away. "You ok?" He finally broke the silence.

She sighed, running her fingers through the damp sand. "Ever notice, we're constantly asking each other that?" She looked at him sideways under the cover of her hair, unintentionally catching his gaze.

So much for ignoring him.

He was lying on his stomach in the sand beside her, resting his chin on his hands, staring out at the few yards of gray ocean visible in the fog. Her gaze searched his face. His lashes, his cheeks, his mouth. His forehead was furrowed, and he was trying to hide it in his voice, but he was upset too.

"I couldn't find you, you scared me." His voice was hoarse, breathing heavy as he turned his head to fully look at her. She was looking intensely at him, and he matched her with his own gaze.

She could smell his fear, taste it on the roof of her mouth. It brought back a dash of reality, and she realized he didn't really know what she was feeling. He was on the verge of jumping to the wrong conclusion. She didn't know how to make him understand, could barely explain it to herself, so tried to make him see with her eyes instead.

But he failed to understand, dropping his eyes from the intensity of her stare, rubbing his thumb against his ring. "So what now?" The warm skin of his elbow brushed hers for a second.

She realized she would have to be more direct. "Brennan, there's a…natural hesitancy, an urge for everything to stay the same. But that's not going to happen." She watched his thumb stop moving. He was making the worst assumptions.

He went straight into the next question. "I need to know what you want."

"My hesitancy does not mean I don't want this." She smiled, one corner of her mouth lifting ruefully. "Sometimes I think I want this too much."

That made him look up.

Something in her needed to touch him, and she reached out, softly putting her hand on his cheek. "I'm not afraid of being with you, Brennan. I'm afraid of not being strong enough if I am."

He shook his head, trying to understand.

She made a curious, helpless gesture with one hand. "Sometimes I'm afraid of being too vulnerable, because then someone could get hurt." She looked away, blinking rapidly. "I couldn't live with myself if I let someone get hurt. And even though you keep telling me that it's not my fault when something happens, I can't help but feel that way. It's my job, and when I'm distracted…"

It was a feral's instinct to protect, to guard the pack. He understood that feeling better than she realized. His heart ached for her fear.

"Jesse told me being vulnerable to one person means being stronger when facing the rest of the world." She turned back towards him. "I never thought of it that way before."

"Neither have I." He confessed thickly.

"I'd like to give it a try though." She spoke slowly, meaningfully, meeting his gaze anew.

He could see so much love in her eyes that it instantly sobered him. "Are you sure you're ready for this?" He whispered, studying her face for any signs of apprehension.

She had caught the serious mood too, and her eyes were glittering pools of amber as she told him without words that she was touched by his concern. She curled a hand around the back of his neck and slowly nodded. "I'm ready."

His eyes dropped to her lips briefly before returning to her loving gaze. "You know how I feel about you, don't you?"

She graced him with that tender smile she seemed to reserve only for him, smoothing the hair back from his forehead in a tender gesture before resting her hand against the side of his face, gently stroking his eyebrow with her thumb. 'I know, Brennan," She whispered. "I know."

He smiled almost shyly, lowering his lips to hers in the most tender of kisses, his heart nearly bursting as he wordlessly professed his love for her. She responded, opening herself like he had never felt before from her.

"Don't give up on me, Brennan," She whispered when he broke away.

"Never," He rasped, eyes boring into hers. "Never."

She inched closer to him, pushing herself to her knees as his arms wrapped around her waist, kissing him on his neck where the muscle began at his shoulder, placing her hands on each side of his face and bringing his lips to hers for a kiss that was both apology and forgiveness.

He greedily drank every drop of emotion she poured into him through her kiss. _Being almost here isn't good enough, Brennan._ A flash of remembrance of her broken words hit him, and he fiercely vowed never to let her down. No matter what happened. He trembled slightly at the thought, and she felt it go all through his body, pulling back and recognizing the haunted look in his eyes.

"Tell me about your dream."

He wordlessly shook his head, unable to forget the way she had looked at him with deep agony and grief. _Why?_ He couldn't bear to see that look in her eyes again.

She licked her lips. "I think I know." She hadn't meant to tell him. It was something he had chosen not to share with her, as she had childhood secrets of her own she had chosen not to share. But at her whispered words, his head shot up, eyes locking on hers.

She knew something. His hands gripped her shoulders. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing, I just—"

"Tell me."

They stared at each other for a moment.

"I'm having nightmares." She met his eyes steadily. "And I know you are too."

He drew his breath in slightly, looking away.

"I'm having _your _nightmare, Brennan."

His face changed subtly, eyes widening in shock. His grip on her shoulders loosened, fingers trembling. "Are you sure?"

She shifted, eyes lowering. "I see you as a little boy, Brennan. I see your mother before she died."

"What?" His voice reflected new shock. That wasn't what he was expecting.

"I see you with your friends, boosting a car."

He shook his head, struggling to follow. "Wait, how do you—"

"I saw her give you a pendant, I saw you begging for her to breathe when she lay dying." Unbidden tears began to slide down her cheeks, and she wiped them away impatiently. "I felt everything you felt, Brennan."

He broke the contact next, turning away, leaning his elbows on his knees. "Shalimar, I—" He wiped his face with a clammy hand. "I never told anyone that, not even Adam."

"I know, Brennan."

He looked utterly lost as he glanced at her, trying to fathom the meaning of it all. "How?"

"I don't know."

Brennan turned his face away again, covering his face with his hands. _Shalimar living his past, himself seeing a horrible future._ Sometimes it was just…too much.

"I'm sorry, Brennan." She sank back down next to him.

He sighed heavily, lifting his head. "I know." He paused, eyes searching a spot across the water. "I just want to know why this is happening."

"So do I."

A new thought occurred to him. "Do—do you think it could have anything to do with that psionic messing with you?"

"What do you mean?" She looked at him warily.

"I don't know, maybe it's more of his games."

"No," She shook her head after a moment.

"Why not, it makes sense—"

"Brennan, you never told me any of this," She gently reminded him. "That means he would have to have been in your head as well."

Oh.

He fell quiet.

"Anything strange happening to you lately?" She prompted him after a moment.

He closed his eyes, wincing.

"Brennan, tell me about your dream." She reached over, tangling their fingers together.

"It's nothing, Shal." He shook his head, determinedly tugging on her fingers, bringing them up to his lips, trying to distract her. "I have a lot of bad dreams about my childhood, about losing my mother…growing up on the streets. I have nightmares of other things too." He glanced at her askew. "Sometimes I dream of losing you."

She nodded, jaw tightening, knowing that fear all too well.

They fell quiet again.

"I'm sorry about your mother."

He swallowed quickly, jerkily. The old feelings of abandonment stung even now.

"She loved you, Brennan, more than anything." She leaned into his chest, eyes burning. "She didn't want to leave you."

He nodded again, pulling her into his arms, holding her gently. "No child should have to feel the way I did, Shal, to be left alone like that."

Her eyes closed. "I felt it too, Brennan."

She sensed his resignation. "Yeah, I'm sorry you had to experience it, dream it. I wouldn't—"

"No." She shook her head against his chest. "I meant with my own childhood. My father—I—" She fell silent, unable to say more.

"It's ok, Shal." He spoke up after a moment, sensing the heavy grief within her, wanting only to comfort her.

She felt his lips press against her eyelids, and again, softly and hesitantly against her cheek. This was the third time now recently she had thought about her own childhood abandonment. First when she was talking with Emma the morning she was sick and then when Brennan had told her about that little boy he helped put into the underground. She didn't want to think about it anymore. It was too painful. Between everything going on lately, she just wanted it all to go away, even if for one night. Brennan smoothed her hair with one hand, and she leaned into his touch, tracing the muscles of his back with her hands. _Just make it go away_, she pleaded silently, _make it better_. She burrowed her face into his neck, calming herself in his arms, suppressing all thoughts but the comfort she felt from being held so tenderly.

He felt her muscles relax, and gently pulled her to her feet, rubbing his hands up and down her arms as she shivered in the cool air. "I love you, Shal."

She smiled tenderly. "I love you too."

His expression didn't change, he didn't move a muscle, only his pupils moved, dilating in the near darkness as he searched her face.

She suddenly felt shy, smiling, watching the waves lapping near their feet, realizing with a start they were both barefoot. Her toes were numb. "Let's go home." She tilted her face back up to him, meeting his eyes.

He let out his breath, groaning softly, arm sliding around her shoulder and slipping her back into his warmth as they turned and walked back down the beach.

She tucked her arm around his waist and they walked without talking, the only sound the rush of the surf. The fog had an unreal quality to it. Had it only been a few days since they had been here last? She wasn't feeling chilled any more, she was just floating along beside him, not really thinking about what they'd just said. She looked down at their feet. Funny how she'd never noticed how her stride was only a little more than half of his. She had to take an extra step for every few he took. She scanned the sand. There was only one their two sets of prints coming from the other direction, in places washed away by the tide. With each step they took, new prints overlapped and clashed with old, paths mixing, colliding. Something struck her about the symbolism, and she tightened her arm around him.

They entered quietly, slowly, back into Sanctuary. Their home was dark and still, their family asleep as they made their way down the hallway and into Brennan's room. He closed the door with his foot as she turned in his arms. She smiled, shaking her head in wonder, reaching up to touch his face, gently stroking his ear with her fingertip, at a loss for words, struck by the enormity of the moment. He seemed to understand, tilting his forehead so that it came to rest against hers, the tip of his nose brushing hers. She stood still and shut her eyes. Her blood felt like it had rushed through her one way, and then turned around and was sizzling back through her veins the other way. Every place her skin touched his felt simultaneously singed and caressed. Foreheads, hands, noses, thighs. Their tightly clasped hands. Even her toes against his bare feet.

His eyes.

The color had changed from chocolate brown to black, the pupils big and deep. "I love you." His voice was rough with emotion and his face so serious. He smiled suddenly, a bright, hopeful look as he cleared his throat. "I love you, Shal." He repeated the words, his voice still raw, eyes just the tiniest bit shy.

She leaned forward and kissed him hard. His arms went back around her, and she slid her hands under his back and kissed him harder. Things had changed. The rules of their world had subtly, utterly shifted, and she wasn't sure at all she knew what she was doing.

But she was sure of one thing.

"I love you too." She cupped his face, tracing her finger over his cheeks. His skin, his eyelashes, his nose…she loved him all.

He hadn't heard the words often in his lifetime. He blinked quickly at the tears that stung his eyes now at hearing them.

But she knew, and she pushed gently, laying him down, raising herself up, smiling tenderly down at him. "And I'll tell you the same again tomorrow, when you wake up and think this was a dream," She whispered softly, kissing the sensitive skin in front of his ear. "I'll tell you ten years from now when you're still amazed that I'm with you," She whispered fiercely, teasingly.

His brow quirked, the bravado not quite hiding the tremble of his lips as she kissed him. He felt her hands smooth down his shoulders, and he opened his eyes. She looked so beautiful, so sensual, so loving, it left him in awe. He rolled her gently under him, linking the fingers of both his hands with hers, bringing their joined hands up to rest beside her face.

There was so much unknown.

But for now, none of it mattered.

For now, it was enough to touch each other in the darkness of his bedroom with soft lips and exploring fingers.

It was more than enough.

It was everything.

Fire glowed in her eyes as she stared at him.

He stared back.

Claiming each other.

Now. Tomorrow. Forever.

There are a lot of things that go by and are forgotten in life, she thought as she searched deeper into his eyes and drowned, but never the first time you're with someone you love. She opened her senses to the night, printing it all in her mind.

His eyes.

She watched him watch her and felt something like amazement overtake her. She couldn't help but smile, and he paused, smiling back.

It was about time.

She had thought it before, their first night back from the underground caves, but understood it more fully this time. Whatever had been keeping them apart all this time had disappeared into the night. She could tell by his eyes he felt it too.

_We both get it now. I love you_. _It's as simple as that._

His smile widened, hearing her though she didn't speak it aloud, and the look in his eyes sent a wave of warmth crashing through her, breaking down the last of the walls of separation.

And then it was just them.

All coherent thoughts left her as she lost herself in him, with him, and together, they slid over the edge and fell into the night.

In his lab, Adam worked feverishly alone, swearing under his breath as he learned that he was too late, that finally learning the names on the list was meaningless.

They had already been killed.

He frowned, knowing what Emma hadn't voiced aloud.

That there had been three names on the list.

And that his was the third.

He groaned, laying his head into his palms. He didn't know how much longer Emma would respect the boundaries they had wordlessly established.

Illusion.

Misdirection.

Truth inside a lie, masking truth.

It was because of duty he had deceived them in the past, and it was because of love he continued to do so now.

He had thought when he brought his team home from this last great mission that the past had been reburied; he had thought he could breathe again, even if it was a short reprieve.

He had been wrong.

The groan that escaped him was low and desperate.

He was getting tired of holding his breath.

Shalimar stirred slowly, waking from her restless doze, staring up at the blue-gray light in the room. It was at least an hour before dawn. A heavy leg rested across hers, warm arms cradling her close. She smiled, turning her head slightly and tasting his skin. Just the salt at the edge of his sideburn with the tip of her tongue. Then she kissed his ear lightly.

"Hey," She whispered into his ear.

No answer.

"Brennan." She whispered again. Her tongue darted out to tease the line of his jaw.

Still no response.

He was dead to the world.

She grinned softly, kissing him one final time. "I'll be back." She wanted so badly to stay nestled in Brennan's arms and fall back asleep, but something wouldn't let her. She had been awake for the past hour, and from his breathing, Brennan would be asleep for quite some time yet. She reluctantly slipped out from under the warmth of his body; pulling on the t-shirt Brennan had been wearing earlier, then padding over to the bathroom in the dark.

Love.

Unbelievable.

She knew she was glowing with it. It was unlike her. She didn't let it happen very often. It was dangerous now. With him.

Him.

She washed her hands, splashing water on her face before walking back into the bedroom. He slept crookedly on the bed, having sculpted his body around hers.

No nightmares.

She smiled, wanting to take credit for it, but knowing better.

The nightmares would return for both of them.

But not now.

She contented herself for a moment watching him, biting her lip in tender remembrance. She was tired, but felt too restless to sleep. She thought about waking him, a gleam in her eye, but decided against it, tracing the line of his bare chest with possessive eyes, unable to resist touching him one more time. She lifted her hand and placed it on top of his, fingers sliding of their own accord around to his inner wrist, pressing against his veins, feeling his blood flow warm through him. The simple contact was electric, the current flowing from her body to his and back again. She concentrated on the sensation, absorbing it, feeling his heart beating in her fingers, her hands, her arms, and her chest, smiling tenderly when she realized their hearts were beating together.

Perfectly in time.

The hair on her arms stood on end as she listened with her fingers, watching him, loving him.

Restless energy finally drove her from the room, the feral needing to move, and she kissed him gently, closing the door quietly behind her, stopping off in her own room and pulling on jeans and a shirt before padding down the hallway. It was early, morning not far off, and the others would be waking soon. Even as she tiptoed silently down the hall, Emma's door opened, a bright red, disheveled head peeking out.

"Oh, hey Shal." Emma greeted tiredly, yawning hugely. "I was just going to sit by the fount—" She suddenly stopped, eyes widening, lips curling into a grin.

"What?" Shalimar raised her brows defensively at Emma's look.

"Nothing." Emma discreetly ducked her head as the feral walked past. "It's about time," She whispered, smiling to the room at large when Shalimar disappeared.

_Yeah, yeah, you know we'll talk later. _

Emma laughed aloud when Shalimar purposely sent her her thoughts, knowing full well she would hear her, and she laughed louder, knowing full well the feral could hear her laughter in return.

Shalimar shook her head at her friend's laughter, smiling as she padded into the kitchen for a quick breakfast. Whatever had woken her up still had her feeling restless, and she wandered, finding herself by one of the terminals, staring blankly at the computer screen. She couldn't stop thinking about her last dream for some reason. Brennan had been way too young to be stealing cars. The faces of his friends loomed in her memory, and she frowned. They had all been older than him, except one, and they had obviously been using him.

He had just been too little to know it.

She thought of her own childhood, of the recent reminders. Of their own volition, her hands began to move over the keyboard, and for reasons she couldn't explain, she had the urge to call Dave.

The burly molecular didn't answer.

She frowned, thinking some more, typing a few quick strokes into the computer, freezing when a grainy picture of a dark-haired little boy popped up.

He was small for his age, eyes owlishly large behind wire-rimmed glasses.

She swallowed, fingers trembling as she covered her mouth.

She knew that face.

It was one of the boys from her dream, one of Brennan's friends.

The one who had been his age.

Something was wrong.

The feeling haunted her even as she raised her ring to lips, about to call for help, freezing when she realized the absurdity of it all. How would she even begin to explain it? _Dave, find Dave._ The mantra stuck in her mind even as she numbly dropped her hand, legs shaking slightly as she slipped back into Brennan's room. Still he slept, soundly, and she knew that if she woke him, he would demand an explanation. Or insist on going with her.

She couldn't explain it to herself, let alone anyone else.

It was just a silly dream.

She shook her head, deciding to leave him a note.

"Went to Dave's. Call me."

She slipped out just as he began to stir.

When Brennan awoke alone, he didn't know what to think. When he found her obscure note, he felt even more confused. He stared at her scribbled handwriting with furrowed brows, lips about to form her name when Adam's voice suddenly interrupted.

Another meeting.

Brennan sighed as he made his way into Adam's lab, finding Jesse and Emma already there. He sank into the nearest chair, staring distractedly at the screen saver shifting a double helix across the screen in front of him. Adam was speaking, but he didn't hear a word.

He had woken up alone.

She had left him.

_No_, he chastised his wandering thoughts. Last night had been…amazing. She had left him a note. Suddenly he couldn't wait to see her again. _Dave's_. His fingers brought the computer to life, pausing when the screen saver dissipated to show a grainy picture of a little boy.

Danny Haines.

His name was listed under his picture.

"This mission is imperative…"

Adam's voice droned on in his head as he stared at the large eyes, realizing he had never followed up on him as he promised he would. In the midst of the mission and the psionic and Adam's secrets and Jesse being injured and his nightmares, and things with Shalimar, he had completely forgotten.

"…And so, we must go to Naxcon."

Naxcon.

Brennan's head shot up at the word.

He had heard that name only one other time.

In his nightmare.

_They shouldn't have died in the Naxcon explosion… _

His eyes narrowed, breath coming in shallow puffs.

_If you had just followed up like you should have..._

"None of this would have happened."

He spoke the words out loud without realizing it, barely noticing when Adam stopped speaking to stare at him, heart pounding as his eyes bore into the large ones in the grainy picture of Danny.

Shalimar had been the one struggling with fear and guilt all this time.

But yet in the end, it would be his fault.

He killed Adam and Emma.

_Followed up._

Danny, Danny was somehow the key.

With trembling fingers, he typed in the single word.

Naxcon.

It pulled up an overwhelming load of information. Nicholas Fox. His eyes locked on the President and CEO's name.

Shalimar's father.

With trembling fingers he pulled up the family that was taking in Danny.

They had left him a message three days ago.

Dave and Danny never arrived.

It was then he knew fear.

Shalimar had gone after them.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer—See Chapter One

A/N: I haven't finished chapter nine yet, so am posting chapters as I get them written. My betas haven't even sent feedback on these yet because the turnaround time is so fast, so I'm flying solo this time around! I'm averaging 50 hours a week at work right now and have been writing frantically for the past ten weekends in a row, so am posting as fast as I am able. I'm sorry I can't update any faster for those of you that asked, but just wanted you to know why. Thank you so much to Lisa, Adele, Mxfan214, Tunder28, Eternalfire-angel, Rain, and Courtney. I've really been struggling to write this week so your encouragement has meant more than you know! Thank you! Blackpanther, you always bring a smile to my face, thank you! I think some of your questions will be anwered here, but I think even more will come up. :) CatJerica, thank you so much for your kindness! I'm still crazy about MX too. :) Mayra, I can't tell you how happy your review made me! Without the feedback from my betas before I'm posting, I didn't know if the storylines from ep 222 were making any sense. With all the questions, I was afraid I hadn't made it clear enough, but I'm so happy you're following! I revealed some of it purposely in this last chapter, but of course still have more to come. :) Thank you! Marie, I've got the DVD's preorderd. :) Thank you so much for your comments, you completely made my day! Mari, what would I do without you? Thank you for everything. This chapter again references eps 222 and 301. If you can, I would highly recommend watching ep 222 if you are not recognizing which parts of this story are coming from the ep. I think it would help clear up some of your questions. (But yes, the other woman is Lexa, some of the scenes in the dreams are from 301, but changed of course). It's always a balance between revealing enough and not revealing too much in each chapter, so I apologize that the plot wasn't set up better. That's where I normally rely on my beta's for help, so I'm afraid my story is suffering a bit this time around without their eyes. But I am pretty happy with how this chapter turned out, it was a lot of fun to write. I hope you enjoy! Thank you!

Traveling On—Chapter Eight

He forced himself to breathe.

Danny.

Danny Haines.

According to Adam, their seller was named Dr. Richard Haines.

Adam.

Brennan narrowed his eyes, staring at the older man, fingers shaking in outrage and confusion. "You knew?" He spoke the words without thought, anger seething as he stood abruptly to his feet.

Adam stopped talking mid-sentence. He understood immediately that something had been realized, eyes darting between Emma and Brennan.

"What's wrong, Brennan?" Emma eyed the two men warily. She glanced at Jesse, who stood with furrowed brow. "Brennan?"

Brennan sank back onto his chair, suddenly tired of it all, wordlessly spinning the monitor around. He heard Jesse's slight intake of air, followed by Adam's heavy sigh.

"Adam," Emma turned toward the older man unexpectedly, arms crossed. "I haven't said anything until now, but I think it's time you tell them what it all means." She raised her brow, ignoring Jesse's sharp glance.

Adam nodded, suddenly looking as if he had aged ten years. He turned his body toward Brennan. "Yes, I knew. Danny is Haines' son, he asked me to help him when the child's powers were becoming too much for him to handle. I didn't make the connection at the time, but I suspect now he wanted him out of danger."

Brennan's jaw flexed in silent anger, remembering the fear of the little boy.

"How do you know Haines?" Jesse had sunken back into his chair, kneading his temple. He was starting to wonder how many more secrets that Adam had kept from them. Maybe Brennan had been right all along. He bit back a groan, tensing when he felt Emma's hands land on his shoulders.

Adam hesitated, meeting Emma's eyes, nodding minutely. "Haines was a medical doctor, but he was also a former genomex scientist. He worked as Dr. Shaw's assistant in the late seventies."

Dr. Shaw. Brennan gave a bitter laugh, his earlier revelation almost forgotten in the wake of the dream that had followed. The tree statue had been lost in the underground flood, but its last message was still ingrained in his mind. "I've heard rumors of the existence of a list of names..." He repeated the words from the message aloud, eyes boring into Adam's. "Half truths, Adam, that's all you've ever given us."

"Brennan, I—"

"No!" Brennan rose back up, furious. "In the caves, you only revealed part of your secrets when you were forced to. And again a few days ago, you only told us there was a _possible_ connection to this list and to the underground caves, to Dr. Shaw." He lips twisted into a sneer. "Well, now we're here again, Adam." He took a half step forward. "You knew all along that this list of names was the one Dr. Shaw mentioned. You were Dr. Shaw's partner, and now you're telling us Haines was his assistant."

"Yes." Adam didn't deny it.

"Back in the caves, when Emma asked, you told us you didn't know about his research. Is that still the case, Adam?" Brennan's voice rose hotly. "Or were you lying again?"

Silence filled the room, and as the others watched, their leader unfolded before them, becoming a stranger.

When Emma finally spoke, her voice was painfully quiet, fingers digging into Jesse's shoulders. "There was a third name on the list, Adam. Tell them what it all means."

Adam's color was white, but he spoke firmly. "I know you are all angry, but I want you to believe me when I say everything I have done over the past thirty years was to protect you." Brennan gave a huff of disbelief, but stayed silent. Adam took a breath, looking around the room. "Dr. Shaw's research picked up…where I left off. I wasn't aware he had continued my work after I left until we found it in the caves."

"Your work?" Jesse pinched the bridge of his nose, head bowed.

"Yes." Adam's eyes pleaded with the molecular to understand, but it went unnoticed. "You have to understand, we were on the verge of cracking the genetic code. I…experimented on selective mutations in secret." Jesse's head snapped up, and Adam leaned toward him. "But I stopped the work, and I hid it because I knew it was too dangerous for anyone to complete my work."

"And you really didn't know Shaw or Haines continued working on it after you left?" Emma watched him closely, and he could feel her probing his mind.

"No." He stood, hands outstretched, letting her partially in.

"He's telling the truth." Emma shook her head after a moment.

"I had stopped my experiments before I left. I encrypted the information, and took it out of genomex."

"That didn't work too well, did it?" Brennan snorted in sarcasm.

"So you were the third name on the list?" Jesse glanced at Emma. _Why didn't you tell me?_ He felt her hands run down his back in apology, heard her whisper something about moral codes. He nodded stiffly, barely comprehending.

Adam closed his eyes. "I don't know how far Shaw got. In his message, he said he eventually also realized the danger and hid the information as well."

"But Eckhart obviously found out anyway." Brennan angrily turned the computer monitor back around, staring at the grainy picture of Danny. "How does your name on a list help Eckhart anyway?"

"The list gives the names of specific people whose names are needed to crack the genetic code. Eckhart needs our DNA to complete my work. He wants to recreate it. I tried to find the other two people this morning, but they were both dead." He looked grimly around the room. "Jesse was able to trace the license plate of the car Haines was driving, and it matches back to a company called Naxcon Corporation, which is where I want us to go this morning."

Naxcon. Brennan straightened up. "Shalimar's father's company?"

A hint of surprised resignation flashed across Adam's face. "Yes. I want her to go there undercover."

Brennan's heart thudded painfully. He lurched back to his feet, staring at Danny's picture. He didn't understand the connection Shalimar's father had to all this, but he did understand that Eckhart wanted that list. The list that Danny's father had tried to sell to the highest bidder immediately after hiding his son. Heavy guilt swirled with heaving anger, and his head dropped. "We've got another problem, Adam."

"Danny?" Adam's mind made the connection when he saw where Brennan's eyes had fallen. "You never followed up on him?"

The words were straight out of his dream. Brennan flinched. "No."

"And now Eckhart's got him." Jesse groaned the words, jaw tight. His temple throbbed with the start of a massive headache.

"Where's Shalimar?" Emma spoke up suddenly.

"I think she somehow figured some of this out already." Brennan pressed his lips together, pushing himself to his feet. "She went to Dave's, I'll go after her."

"Shalimar?" Adam activated the comlink.

"What's up, Adam?" Her voice brought relief.

"Where are you at?" Adam gestured for Brennan to wait as he started out of the room.

Brennan frowned, stopping impatiently in the doorway.

There was a heavy pause as Shalimar hesitated. When she finally responded, there was reluctance in her voice. "Don't ask me why, but I had this urge to visit Dave." She laughed slightly, embarrassed. "I'm almost there now."

"Shalimar, listen closely. There have been some new developments, and I need you to return to Sanctuary immediately."

"Danny's in trouble, isn't he?"

Adam's mouth opened in surprise at her words, turning to look at Brennan who shrugged back in confusion.

Shalimar understood their silence. "I'm almost there, Adam. I'm just going to take a look around." She cut the connection before anyone could object.

"Brennan, wait." Adam called after the elemental as he strode through the doorway.

"I'm going after Shal." He didn't bother turning back around.

"Should we still go to Naxcon?"

Brennan froze mid-step. That was Emma's voice. He swore under his breath, turning abruptly back around on his heel. "No!" His voice was harsh; he had almost forgotten.

Again.

The abyss cackled loudly in his ear.

"No!" He felt the edges of reason and insanity splitting open as he stalked back toward the stunned trio. "You can't go there."

Jesse's brows were winged upward in surprise, Adam already dismissing him, distracted, still processing his own revelations. Brennan latched desperate eyes onto Emma, startling her with their intensity. "Promise me you won't go there while I'm gone." He grabbed her, fingers digging into her shoulders, shaking her when she stared back at him. "Promise me!"

"Take it easy, Brennan." Jesse was on his feet immediately, his hand closing over Brennan's purposefully.

Brennan forced himself to take a breath, dropping his hands abruptly. "Emma?" His voice was a harsh whisper.

She nodded slowly, eyes wide as she stared into him.

He closed his eyes, fingers brushing hers in silent comfort as he left the room once more.

She collapsed bonelessly into the chair.

"What is it?" Jesse hovered over her, forgetting his own injuries as he dropped to his knees beside her.

"Emma?" Adam crossed the room in concern. "What did you see?"

She licked her lips. "Death." She whispered numbly, fingers trembling beneath Jesse's. "I saw death."

He arrived within an hour. Shalimar heard Brennan as he jogged down the hall. She wasn't surprised. He looked as awful as she had. She went back to staring at her hands.

"You saw him?" She didn't look up.

"Yeah."

She saw the tips of his shoes as he came to a stop in front of her. "The place was wide open when I got here…looks like he's been like that a few days already. They must have gotten to him almost immediately."

She sat with her back against the rough brick wall, speaking numbly. He knelt in front of her, reaching a hand out slowly, moving a lock of her hair away from her brow. He wanted to touch her. His fingers glided over her tangled hair, her tear-stained cheek and along her jaw.

She stirred slightly and sighed, as if finally realizing he was there. She pushed into his hand a little, her lips kissing his palm gently, and then she opened her amber brown eyes and looked at him. "I thought I said 'call me'." She whispered against his hand as she kissed it again.

"Really?" He answered softly, cradling her face in his fingers. "I read it 'follow me'." He felt her smile against his skin. She reached up with one hand and clasped his neck, bringing his face to hers. He met her lips in a soft kiss, eyes closing in relief. "When I woke up, and you weren't there…" He held her head in his hands when they broke apart, desperately studying her eyes. "Are you ok?"

She knew he meant that question in more ways than one. "Yeah." They were new to all of it. She pulled him to her again and they kissed, in the shy hesitant manner of new lovers, over and over. She wouldn't let him think it was a mistake. Ever. She met his lips with her own in a series of short, sweet kisses as her arm snaked around his back.

Finally, he stood, pulling her to him fiercely, burying his face in her hair. "We better tell the others about Dave."

She shuddered slightly at the reminder. She had covered his face and upper torso as best she could with her jacket; Brennan hadn't seen the full fury of what was done to him. There had been no sign of Danny. She didn't know if she should feel horror or relief at that. They had taken him.

At least it probably meant he was still alive.

"Brennan, what the hell is going on here?"

"I don't know, Shal." He groaned against her hair.

They fell quiet for a moment, breathing in each other's comfort.

When he spoke again, she felt his breath behind her ear, and she shivered again, mind latching onto more pleasant reminders.

"Shal…about the other night…" He paused, pulling back to look at her.

She grinned suddenly. "What about it?"

He chuckled, taken back, shaking his head slightly, stealing another brief kiss. "When we were talking about our dreams." His voice was thick, half amused, half aroused. He paused, fingers moving in her hair. "I—I didn't tell you everything."

"Yeah, ok." She ran one finger down the line of his cheek, along the stubble at the edge of his beard line where he hadn't shaved yet, then across his full bottom lip, forcing herself to focus. Every time he came near her she started to fizzle all over. There'd always been an electric charge between them, but now the voltage had skyrocketed.

A smile flitted across his mouth, understanding, as he watched her in silence, motionless. She dropped her hand, looking up at him, and he cleared his throat. "I don't understand it, but some of my dreams are…showing me things."

She shook her head. "What kind of things?"

He hesitated. "The future, Shal, I think I'm seeing the future…or at least a future possibility."

Her brows winged up, and the expression on his face reminded her of when he had told her about the mists in the cave. _Had his dreams always been this perceptive?_ She couldn't bear the agony in his eyes, licking her lips. "Wha--what do you see?"

The relief flared in his eyes before he closed them. "In my dreams, I never followed up on Danny and horrible things happened." He paused, rolling his lower lip between his teeth. "Adam and Emma…died, and you, you were broken, angry. You hated me."

She stared at him, stunned, not knowing what to say.

He smiled slightly. "Yeah, I know."

She broke eye contact first, looking away, searching what was left of the destroyed underground. "Brennan—"

"Yeah." He sighed heavily, hands rising and clutching her shoulders. "Look, we can analyze this later, ok. All I know is that I wouldn't have followed up on him now either if not for you. We have to find Danny, and then find out how to keep anyone else from dying."

She nodded silently, eyes landing on the mangled body behind them. She couldn't question him any more than she could question her own dreams lately. "Were there any clues, anything else?"

He hesitated, thinking of her father. "No."

They were halfway back to Sanctuary when Shalimar heard him.

Brennan swore under his breath when he saw Shalimar's jeep do an abrupt turn in the middle of road in front of him, tires spitting gravel. She roared past him, and he got a glimpse of her fingers gripping the wheel, of her lips moving. He gritted his teeth, slamming on his brakes and spinning his own car back around.

"Shalimar," He called tersely into his ring, maneuvering up behind her, "Talk to me." He heard a click, and realized she had activated her comlink, but didn't respond. "Shal?"

"Where's Danny?" Her voice came back this time, angry, demanding.

"What are you—"

"Why should I believe you?" Her voice interrupted him, and it dawned on him she was talking to someone else. He swore again, louder this time. "Adam—"

"We're on it, Brennan." Emma's voice came back cool and reassuring. "Adam is tracking you even as we speak, and Jesse is firing up the helix. Keep following her, Adam wants to see where he is leading her."

"He's got to be close, Brennan." Jesse piped in, and from his breathlessness, Brennan could tell he had been running. "Adam doesn't think he would be able to reach her otherwise. We're checking traffic cams now."

"What if we're tired of playing your games?" Shalimar's voice rose as she continued talking

"Hey, Jess—" Without warning, her jeep suddenly halted in front of him. Brennan slammed on his brakes, swerving sharply to avoid hitting her. A tree loomed in his vision as he lurched crazily through the ditch, and muscles strained to turn the wheel away. Branches scraped against metal and the car bounced sharply, bucking his head up against the ceiling before shuddering to a stop. His body slammed back against the seat, locked in place, and he felt a flash of relief he had the good sense to buckle his seatbelt.

"Brennan!" He heard her a second before her fists pounded on the window. "Brennan!"

"I'm ok I'm—humph!" He shakily opened the door, breath knocked out of him as a flurry of blonde hair attacked him.

"I'm sorry," Her hands tugged sharply on the belt, teeth chattering. "It was him, that psionic, he was in my head again."

"Yeah, I know, we were—" The rest of his sentence was muffled when her lips swooped down, claiming his, seeking a connection. He was the one left breathless when she pulled back, hands returning to his belt.

"I'm sorry." She rambled as she tugged him free, hands roaming for injury, face wilting when she felt the bump under his hairline. "I don't know what I was thinking, I shouldn't have—"

"Shalimar, stop." He reached up, firmly capturing one of her fluttering hands. "Just stop, ok."

She stilled under his touch. Her head dropped, and he saw her shoulder rise as she took one deep breath and then another. When her face lifted, she was back in control, jaw set. "You're ok."

It wasn't a question.

"Yeah." He smiled gently, groaning as he climbed out of the car. "How about you?"

"I'm fine." She turned away, circling the car to inspect the damage.

"Brennan, Shalimar."

"We're here, Emma." Brennan spoke as he watched Shalimar bend her knees, running her hand along a deep scratch on the front passenger side.

She closed her eyes, leaning her head against it for a moment, before straightening back up. "He claims to know where Danny is, wants to exchange him for the list." Her voice was soft.

"Hey guys, I've found the car, it's the same one from last time. They've stopped at the marina downtown." The clacking of keys could be heard as Jesse interrupted them. "Oh nice, they're taking a boat out now."

"Brennan, Shalimar, take the jeep to the marina, but don't let them see you." Adam's voice smoothly gave out commands. "We'll go back for Brennan's car later. Emma, Jesse, I think it's time for a little air surveillance."

"What are you thinking, Adam?" Brennan watched Shalimar as she wordlessly headed back to her car.

"If Eckhart has a new hideout, I want to know where it is."

"Not the smartest of goons apparently," Brennan chuckled as he settled into the passenger seat. "If they're leading us straight there."

"Hmm," Shalimar made a non-committal sound in the back of her throat, steering the jeep back onto the road.

"What is it?" Brennan clutched the safety bar as she stomped on the pedal, racing toward the marina.

"I don't know," She shook her head, glancing at him sideways. "But for him, this feels too easy."

"We'll be careful." Brennan assured.

They reached the marina twenty minutes later, parking down the road from the car they'd seen in the video playback from the previous meet. Shalimar could just see the harbor through the lush grove of maple and oak. They'd be able to see anyone coming.

If they came back.

She yawned, a huge yawn that cracked her jaw.

The others had been circling the area for hours, looking for any sign of life on the nearby island chains or coastal villages. But the boat had seemingly disappeared, the car seemingly abandoned. They had finally given up the search, flying back to Sanctuary to search more effectively with the computer. Adam had long ago called Brennan and Shalimar back to Sanctuary as well, but they had stubbornly stayed longer, not wanting to give up quite yet.

Shalimar yawned again. Sitting, doing nothing…she yawned again. The adrenaline had long since worn off, the lingering fear from the psionic's words melting in the heat of the midday sun. They had gotten little sleep last night. She smiled secretly, glancing at Brennan. He was already dozing.

Their stakeout technique was definitely suffering.

"Brennan," She straightened up as a lone figure walked toward them, a baseball hat tugged low over his eyes. "Do you think that's one of them?"

Brennan opened his eyes and watched as the man walked past the dark car and opened the trunk of another. "Nope." He shut his eyes again.

Shalimar frowned, pushing her seat back as far as it would go to stretch her legs, remembering the chill of the psionic in her mind. It reminded her of Ashlocke all over again. Why was it always her? She sighed, frustrated, cracking her window open a bit. Hot air rushed in, choking her. She started the jeep again, tipping the air conditioning vent to her face. Slightly less hot air sluggishly blew back at her. She turned it off and slouched back in her seat, tapping her nails.

"We could just leave." Brennan spoke without opening his eyes.

"No." She had lost control once already that day; she was determined to see this thing out. She glanced at Brennan again. She hadn't told any of them that the psionic told her to wait at the marina. She just hadn't brought Adam along as he wanted. She smirked, looking back over the shimmering water through the trees. She would only play his game on her terms. "Come on, pick up the bait." She whispered into the hot air.

Nothing.

Finally, frustrated, she started up the jeep, resigned. Brennan made a slight noise in his sleep and moved his shoulders restlessly. She watched his face for a minute. He looked tired, even in sleep.

"Brennan." She spoke softly.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think we'll ever get him?"

He opened his eyes briefly and gave her an intense look that made her think maybe he hadn't been asleep at all.

"Yes."

He shut his eyes again.

She couldn't help but feel reassured by the firmness in his tone, turning off the engine once more.

He opened his eyes and looked at her again, then sat up suddenly. "Sorry."

"It's ok, sleep." She smiled gently. "I'm watching."

He rubbed his eyes and looked toward the harbor. "Anything?"

"Not yet."

They waited some more.

Brennan's knee began to fidget. "You know, Shal, we are here on our own time." He shot her a sideways grin.

His grin widened into a smile as she caught on.

His grin was alluring.

Tempting.

Magnetic.

She resisted for a second.

She smiled back, climbing out of her side of the jeep and crossing over to his, meeting him as he stepped out. She wrapped her arms around his waist. He hooked one elbow around her neck and looked down at her. His sleeve was rough against her cheek and smelled faintly of detergent and distinctly of him. She looked up at him, wondering what he was feeling, his eyes unreadable behind his sunglasses.

"Hey," He smiled, pulling her closer.

She flattened her hand against the muscles of his abdomen. "Hey," She murmured back. She still couldn't see his eyes but they seemed to focus first on her body, and then on her mouth. She grinned, and he bent his head, softly kissing her. His lips were warm and the smell of his skin mingled with the salt smell of the ocean.

"Shal…" Her name, soft as a sigh, and then he pulled her closer, kissing her thoroughly for long minutes.

She faintly heard footsteps, and reluctantly turned, sighing as it was only a woman holding the hand of a little girl.

"Good thing we don't have to report back to Adam about this."

She squirmed breathlessly as Brennan's voice whispered into her ear. She bit her lip as the woman frowned at them. Brennan rested his hands on her waist and pulled her closer against him, his body hotter than the air around them.

"…It was Shalimar's fault, Adam." He gently nipped at her earlobe. "She just won't leave me alone." He ran his lips down the side of her neck to her collarbone. "She can't keep her hands off me. It's really getting to be a problem…"

His body was curved around hers from behind, lips pressed into the hollow of her collarbone. The sensation was unbelievable, but Adam's name brought her back to earth with a thud.

"Just think," Brennan continued. "All those stakeouts…opportunities missed." He kissed down the edge of her low neckline and nudged his way inside.

"I think we should go back, Brennan."

"Shal," He straightened, turning her to face him, suddenly serious. "Why?"

She shifted, pulling out of his arms, opening the passenger door to grab her sunglasses off the dash, shoving them on her nose so he couldn't see her expression. "He told me to wait here."

"What?" Brennan's voice rose in disbelief. "You're just telling me this now?"

"Calm down." She tugged on his arm, getting his attention as his eyes swung wildly around the lot. "He was just playing with us more."

"I don't get it." Brennan's chest rose and fell as he took a deep breath, focusing back on her face. He frowned when he saw her glasses.

"Just his sick way of trying to control me some more." She shrugged, taking a step back. "I tried to bait the hunter this time around, but lost. Again." He reached for her, but she eluded his hands, slipping back around to the driver's side. "I don't want to play anymore."

He stared at her through the tinted window, but she started the car without another word. He shook his head, climbing in.

"Ok," She finally broke the silence after feeling him glance at her for the sixth time halfway back to Sanctuary. "I knew it might be dangerous, but I wanted to stay anyway, I thought maybe he would show up, so we could see him in person, maybe get him. He didn't just want the list, he wanted me to bring Adam, but obviously he knew that we didn't."

He thought back to how she had momentarily lost it after his little car crash into the ditch. "Is this just a battle of control then? To show him you're not afraid?"

"Brennan," She sighed, slipping off her glasses.

"Shalimar, Brennan!" Adam's voice interrupted them, startling them.

"What's up?" Brennan's voice was tired.

"Jesse found a veritable compound on one of the rocky islands off the coast. It didn't show in our initial scans because the building is protected. But when we tried again later, heat signatures showed up; two figures staring across the water with binoculars. I don't know why they ventured out into the open like that."

"Bait." Shalimar grinned widely, turning toward Brennan. "He was too busy watching us, watching him."

"And didn't see the arrow that was Jesse hit him from behind." Brennan caught on, sitting forward in grim excitement. "Let's go hunting."

The marina was nearly deserted by the time they returned, waiting impatiently for the rest of their team to arrive. The horizon was a pink-orange, clouds gathering in the distance by the time they rejoined together. The rocky island that Adam pointed to was tiny and covered in scabby trees, allowing no room to land; they wouldn't be able to access it with the helix. Brennan snuck down to the pier with a grin, easily procuring them a boat. Adam shook his head as they climbed aboard, Brennan putting the boat into gear and pushing open the throttle. The boat slid cleanly through the dark water, leaving a tiny wake behind.

"We are putting this right back where we found it." The older man sternly advised at Brennan's wide grin.

"I won't put a scratch on it," Brennan calmly responded, eyes scanning the horizon. "Besides I don't think we can stay out for very long with this storm coming."

"Do you think we have enough time?" Emma nervously looked upward, spitting out a strand of red hair as it was whipped into her face.

"Don't worry," Brennan flashed her a smile, not quite hiding the grimace as tiny droplets of water backsprayed against him. "No one hates storms more than me."

It didn't take them long to reach the island.

"Is that it?"

They were still quite a ways from the tiny rocky outcrop, but they could see the other boat pulled up to a low dock. It looked deceptively abandoned, a rundown ramp running up the bank to the rocky shore, looking like an old fishing spot on the deserted patch of land. Scrubby trees obscured the back half of the island.

"Do you think it's some sort of hologram?" Shalimar scanned the grounds, but couldn't see anything.

"Most likely." Adam gestured to Brennan to slow down.

Brennan eased the engine into neutral. "Whatever we're going to do, we better do it quickly." He glanced again at the sky.

As they watched, the treeline shimmered, a series of white buildings appearing through the dense foliage. It did look like a compound. Shalimar frowned, eyes straining, heart pounding when she saw a familiar figure standing in a doorway, shading the sun with his hands. "No." The whisper barely tore past her throat when sunlight glinted off metal. "Duck!" She dove for the floor, kicking Brennan's legs out from under him and taking Emma down with her. They landed hard, and she rolled, grasping the edge of Adam and Jesse's pant legs and tugging hard. Jesse yelped, grabbing his pants as they almost slid off his hips, toppling on top of Brennan.

They lay in the bottom of the boat, breathing heavily, waiting.

Nothing happened.

"Shal?" Jesse groaned, rubbing the back of his head where he had struck Brennan's chin on his way down. Brennan made a face and shoved, rolling the molecular off him. "Hey," Jesse grunted, struggling again to hold up his jeans.

"I thought someone was shooting at us." Shalimar gingerly raised her head, peeking over the side of the boat. The compound had disappeared again, no one in sight. "Sorry."

They cautiously stood back up, one by one, Jesse clutching his pants in a fist.

Emma started giggling when she realized what had happened. Shalimar caught on next, arms snaking around Brennan and unbuckling his belt.

"Uh…Shal?"

"For Jesse." She flashed him a grin, yanking the belt out of the loops and handing the strip of leather to the grumbling molecular.

She had ripped the buttons clean off the fly of his jeans when she pulled him down.

Adam shook his head as laughter rippled softly across the water, settling into the pilot's seat and easing the throttle back into gear. He spun the wheel around sharply, bringing the nose of the boat around with an eye on the storm clouds. "Let's try landing on the backside of the island."

"Adam…" Shalimar sobered almost immediately, glancing back at where the doorway had been visible as the boat slowly circled around. "What the hell is going on here?" Her voice was hoarse.

Brennan stared at her, suddenly remembering she hadn't been there this morning to hear Adam's confession. She didn't know. But there was something else, something beyond confusion in her pale face. She looked…sickened. "Shal?" He reached for her, the hair on the back of his arm standing up.

"Adam," The tone of Emma's voice gave them all pause. "We have to get out of here, _now_." She was staring into the tangled underbrush.

"What is it?" Jesse shivered at her tone, glancing around as well. The air felt somehow wrong. It was abnormally quiet. Ominous. Foreboding. A movement suddenly shook a tree, and he jumped as several birds flew squawking into the sky.

Out of nowhere a sharp tension filled the air.

"Emma?" Jesse cleared his throat.

She shook her head, goosebumps dotting her upper arms. Anxiously she scanned the horizon behind them. "Look!"

An ugly purple-green mass of clouds filled the sky to the southwest.

The wind rose suddenly and rocked them.

Something made Shalimar turn and look to the east. "Guys, we've got company." She grimly pointed to the other boat, appearing around the far side of the island in the opposite direction that they'd been watching. "It's them."

"What do you want to do, Adam, stay or run?" Brennan's hands were ready, electricity sparking. He glanced up as thunder rumbled in the sky. He could feel the electric charge already in the air and knew the storm was only a few minutes away.

Adam looked at the sky one more time, opening his mouth, when the whole boat was suddenly rocked savagely forward. Waves rolled over, dashing them with cold water. Brennan grunted, hands closing painfully as he caught himself on the edge.

"It's those same mutants that had us before," Emma's eyes were on the approaching boat, at the figure standing with hands outstretched.

"We're going." Adam was still at the wheel. He slammed the throttle open as far as it would go. The little boat roared to life, and Adam turned it sharply around, heading back toward shore. There was a sharp ping, and they all dropped to the floor.

This time someone was shooting at them.

"What is it with these guys and guns?" Jesse groaned, rubbing his chest as he was overcome by a coughing fit. His lungs still hadn't fully healed.

Emma concentrated, eyes closed, forehead burrowed, ready to lash out when sudden, searing pain seized her. She screamed, grabbing her head, writhing in unbearable pain.

"Emma!" Shalimar crawled forward, reaching her seconds before Jesse.

"Is she hit?" Jesse's hands frantically searched her as she screamed again, back arching blindly as she began to seize. "ADAM!"

Adam released the wheel, and the boat spun crazily. Another pop split the air, and Brennan scrambled forward to grab the wheel, gritting his teeth as the wood dug into his palms, splinters hitting home. He dared to peek over the edge and with a sickening punch to the gut realized that it wasn't going to work. The other boat was gaining steadily. A fresh wave of water splashed madly, drenching them, and he knew that the enormously large mutant had hit them with another telekinetic punch. "Come on!" He pleaded through clenched teeth, pushing the throttle further. The little boat shuddered, inching forward through the water.

"Emma!" Jesse's voice was whipped back into his face, and he realized with a start the wind had picked up.

"There's no blood." Adam could only hold her shoulders as her body tensed into another spasm.

Brennan glanced anxiously around the open water. If they couldn't outrun them, they'd have to lose them.

Somehow.

"Brennan!" Shalimar crawled forward, holding her hair back with one hand as it whipped crazily around her. "You ok!"

"Yeah!" He pointed across the open water. "I'm heading for those islands!" He turned the wheel abruptly and aimed for a group of islets not far to the west. Shalimar lost her hold and slid across the floorboards, coming up hard against the side of the boat.

"Shalimar!"

She landed upright, staring at the sky, blinking in stunned surprise. She frowned and pointed. "Brennan! The storm!"

He craned his neck. Damn.

The huge angry clouds were coming fast. Faster than he'd ever seen a storm build in his life.

They were caught between the storm and the other boat.

Already, the surface of the water was rough with squalls, and the sky had darkened to an eerie greenish yellow.

He cringed as a streak of lightening lit the ominous clouds.

"Jesse! Hold her!" Adam's grim voice ripped through the wind, and Shalimar scrambled back to her knees, peering over the edge of the boat.

"Can we make it!" Brennan called back to her.

"I don't know! Try to get us in there!"

He eased back on the throttle as they neared a narrow passage between two tiny islands. "How deep!"

She strained to see through the murky waters. "A meter at most!"

Their eyes met through the darkness.

"We have to try!"

Brennan nodded, pushing on the throttle again. Another flash of lightening streaked to the water and struck with a crack.

Shalimar felt the hairs all over her body prickle at the electrical charge. That was too close. She glanced back at the other boat. They were coming fast. Suddenly, rain pelted from the sky. A harsh gust him them broadside and the little boat shuddered, lolling sluggishly for a moment.

The engine sputtered and died.

Brennan swore, turning the key.

"Keep trying, Brennan!" Adam's voice hollered back, face still bent over Emma, nudging Jesse back when he got in his way.

The engine coughed, then caught again and the boat straightened. Grimly, Brennan hung onto the wheel, shoulders hunching as another pop sounded.

"Brennan! Get down!" He felt Shalimar's hand on his ankle and went down, managing to keep one hand gripping the careening wheel. Shalimar's fingers rested for a moment on his head, and he felt the strength of her caress.

"Hang on!" He yelled. The island group was small, some of the islands no more than a hundred feet across. They shot into the narrow channel, the engine screamed, and then they were suddenly in the calm lee of the first island. The passageway was relatively quiet, only about twenty feet across and looked like it narrowed further as it snaked out of sight.

"Can we keep going?" Shalimar dared to stand, twisting back around. "I don't see them."

At that moment, the other boat flashed across the end of the passageway. She heard a shout, and then the sound of the other boat's engines as it churned back.

"They draw too much water, it's too shallow for them to follow!" Brennan grinned suddenly. Maybe they would make it after all.

"All they have to do is wait for us to come out." Shalimar grimly pressed her lips together.

Oh. Brennan frowned as he realized she was right.

Emma suddenly seized again, body thrashing violently.

"Emma!" Jesse's terrified scream echoed across the still water.

"I wonder…" Adam leapt to his feet, only to flinch, jerking painfully back as two bullets thudded into his body.

He dropped silently.

"Nooo! ADAM!" Shalimar sobbed his name, crawling across the slippery floorboards as Brennan pushed the throttle forward again, trying to steer them further away.

The air around them sizzled with the storm. Jesse glanced at Brennan, and he was staring wide-eyed. It was as if they were looking at each other underwater. Under opaque, evil, electric green water.

As the little boat steamed sluggishly through the shallow channel, Brennan stared at the collapsed members of his team.

Adam.

Emma.

Fallen.

He had failed. A sob ripped through his throat as he stumbled back, feeling the curved edge of the boat slam into his back.

"We need to do something!" Shalimar stood back up; the other boat was quickly becoming a tiny speck, not able to follow in the shallow channel. "NOW!"

No sooner had she said it that the storm hit and all hell broke loose. The heavens opened and rain slashed out of the sky. The wind caught them hard, slamming the boat against the bank, toppling them all to their knees. Thunder deafened, and she tried to stand again, only to have Jesse grab her elbow, trying to pull her back down.

"The other boat!"

She turned and sure enough, it was inching into the channel behind them. Brennan yelled again and threw himself up hard against her just as she saw the man in the bow lift a gun.

Lightening flashed, illuminating the gunman, and her eyes met his across the water in stunned disbelief as the gun thundered, jerking back his shoulder. She felt something whip across her forehead, heard Brennan desperately scream, and then everything faded to black as she crumbled to the deck.

She couldn't believe it, didn't want to believe it, his name pushing on numb lips as her body went slack.

"Alex."

Brennan froze, wooden planks digging sharply into his knees, tears dripping in silent rivers as his world went to hell before his eyes.

Emma frothed, body twisting in seizure.

Adam shuddered, life blood staining the old wood black.

Shalimar unconscious, lying limp beneath him.

Jesse's harsh breath, struggling to comprehend.

The creak of the wheel as it spun crazily in the looming silence.

He forced himself to breathe.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer—See Chapter One

A/N: Forgive me for the long delay; this story is taking longer than expected to write. Please know that while I may be a little slower with updates, I promise the story will be finished. I'm fighting work demands and health concerns, so bear with me, and it will be completed! Thank you so much to EternalFire-angel, Mxfan214, Tunder28, Rain ,Obulet-dragon-Fury! I can't thank you all enough for your comments and feedback! Adele, I'm sorry to hear you haven't been able to see the second and third seasons. Thank you so much for even reading the episode summaries, that means so much to me! Please let me know if you have any questions on anything, I'd be more than happy to answer whatever I can. CatJerica, lol, you're ahead of me. But I do have plans for that monologue. :) Thanks for letting me know about the typos as well, that's what I get for forgetting to proof it before uploading! Mayra, good question! Actually for me, the action scenes are easier to write than dialogue scenes. With dialogue, it can be hard to keep the momentum going, whereas action scenes just sort of build and develop. Of course the hard part is always thinking of what mess they can get into this time. :) Susie, if you're still reading, I just wanted to say, don't worry. I think you will be happy with how everything works out. Here is the next chapter for you all. This one delves more into characterization and then jumps back into the action again. I'm still working on chapter ten, but I'll update as soon as I can. Thank you!

Traveling On—Chapter Nine

The earth was crying.

Through the din, Shalimar blinked. It was pitch black, the hard surface under her back rocking sickeningly. His weight was heavy across her…wrapped over her, his arms tight, protecting her from the danger and the rain. She was soaked and cold where his skin wasn't pressed to hers, his bare wet shoulder was against her nose. She smelled smoke and skin and blood…sweat and fear…the blackness around them. Over the roar of the storm and the engine and the rain, she could hear him.

Brennan was swearing.

And then pleading.

"Shal…"

Softly pleading, with a broken catch in his voice.

His arms tightened, and he was squeezing her so hard she could barely breathe. She tried to open her mouth, tried to squeeze him back and reassure him, but the darkness swirled in, pulling her back down before she could respond.

"Shalimar!" Time moved in slow, sluggish beats for Brennan as he screamed into her ear, face bent against the rain. Lightening flashed, and he felt the energy ripple under his skin in sharp reply. He had torn off his shirt, shoving it against Adam's chest as the older man stared up at him, panicked, lips becoming bloodless. He had moved numbly, vainly trying to stanch the heavy flow of blood. He had paused to squeeze his hand before moving over to Emma, brushing her hair back, staring helplessly before moving again, folding his body over Shalimar's.

And he had closed his eyes against the pain.

"Brennan!"

Jesse's voice finally broke through the madness, and he realized the molecular had been screaming his name.

"Brennan, I need your help!"

He groaned, forcing another breath, inhaling the blood and the fear, lifting his head in determination. Only a space of thirty seconds had passed, but to Brennan, it felt like years. He took another breath. "Yeah," He finally answered, jaw clenched. "I'm here."

Jesse had managed to crawl across the wet floorboards, catching the spinning wheel with both hands, straining to right the floundering boat. Brennan scrambled across the small floor, knees digging into the rough wood as he joined Jesse at the wheel. Together, they groaned, swinging the sluggish boat back around. Jesse pushed the throttle forward, and the sputtering engine roared, chugging them further down the narrow canal. Pouring rain flattened their hair to their scalps, and their eyes met warily through the storm.

"Now what?" Jesse was wheezing painfully.

"We hope this channel goes all the way through," Brennan peered grimly ahead, slanting rain cutting off visibility.

Jesse nodded, swallowing tightly. "How—how's Adam?"

Their eyes met again, and Brennan wordlessly shook his head.

Jesse shook his head in disbelief. "How the hell did this happen?" He glanced over his shoulder at the larger boat that was struggling to follow. "Adam…the girls…"

"They'll be fine." Brennan refused to believe anything different, and Jesse nodded tightly.

At that moment everything became eerily silent. The island…the wind…Brennan glanced up. The clouds were dark and low, hovering barely above the treetops. Lightening cracked, and the air around them sizzled dangerously. Brennan instinctively ducked, rubbing his nose against his shoulder. Someone groaned, and he thought it was Shalimar. He crawled back across on his hands and knees to check on the others.

"Damn!" Jesse cry of fury was nearly drowned out by deafening thunder as he cut the motor to almost nothing. The little boat shuddered to a stop once more.

"What are you doing!" Brennan stared at him over his shoulder, only to have the angry wind grab a loose branch, lashing his cheek with it. He put up one hand to ward off the flying debris, stomach lurching with sudden understanding as he saw for himself.

The channel narrowed into a tiny stream, joining the two tiny islets together.

They had nowhere left to go.

Shalimar groaned again and relief flashed through Brennan at the sound as he crawled past her toward Adam. His makeshift bandage was soaked, black with blood, and Brennan pounded his fist in helpless fury on the floorboard.

"Here!" Jesse tossed his dripping shirt, and Brennan deftly caught it in one hand, bunching it on top of the soiled remains of his own shirt. "Sorry, Adam." He steeled his teeth, pressing firmly.

Adam moaned incoherently, and he squeezed the older man's shoulder with one hand as he maintained the pressure. He glanced up as Jesse dropped beside Emma, fingers shaking as he checked for a pulse. The molecular didn't move for an agonizing minute, and then his shoulders slumped with relief.

Brennan felt a wave of nausea, part relief and part anger, ripple through him as he stared down at the blood smeared across his hands. Blood. His lips tightened. He was covered in it, the smell sickening him. Enough blood had been shed already. Enough. Lightening flashed, thunder bearing down upon them, and the world narrowed down to a sole meaning.

Survival.

"They'll be ok, they're fighters." Jesse's voice held quiet pride as he moved to check on Shalimar next, brushing her hair behind her ears.

"And so are we." Brennan abruptly stood to his feet, tired of the fear, tired of crawling on the floor, tired of everything. Survival became primal, and he felt his expression leech from his face as he contemplated the men across the water, feral instincts that had been dormant roaring through his blood. Possibilities slid through his mind. Ugly ones. He sifted further into the shadows as he stared across the water and into the eyes of the mutant now staring back at him insolently. He saw another man raise his gun, but the other held out a hand to stop him, contemplating him. Brennan knew from experience that his own eyes had gone flat as he tumbled through the personalities, looking for the one that fit. He recalled the unbridled rage that Emma had allowed him to feel for a moment back in the woods. _That one._ Reptilian hunger flared as hunter and hunted became one.

Brennan smiled.

Dead silence reigned across the width of the channel, the two mutants hesitating, and the whisper of fabric across pale skin was loud even as Jesse stood to his feet beside him, touching his arm. Brennan closed his eyes and let the personalities slither back into the shadows. When he opened them again, it was to the sight of both of the mutants studying him as if he had just done something very interesting. Their gazes flicked back to Jesse, only to find themselves being evaluated by a second set of predatory eyes.

They froze. The shorter one twitched with sudden caution, straightening and clutching his gun warily.

Brennan almost reconsidered his position at the flash of metal, but held his ground, refusing to cower any more.

He couldn't.

They were out of time.

Deep beneath his anger coiled a pressure that was beginning to terrify him. It was not rage. It was not even passion. It was nothing so easy as emotion and nothing he could control. It was the icy recognition of inevitability. What he had felt from Emma also lurked within him. It surged beneath his skin with animalistic unease. Shooting through with all the instinct and awareness of danger that their lives had honed, it whispered of forces racing toward each other, of his own darkest fears and desires coming to claim him. Mutant X and Adam had changed Brennan forever. While those changes had evolved slowly, he had been able to ignore them, suppress them. As the shadows had hidden the enemy, they had seduced him into fooling himself. But now he fell willingly, recognizing the beast that Emma had stirred awake within and purposely opening himself to it. He cringed, red eyes laughing at him from the abyss as they taunted him with an ugly truth.

On the ground, Adam had sensed the standoff, weakly opening his eyes to seethe male members of his team towering over him, and seeing them as men for the first time. It was a rather sudden shock for Adam to realize that for the first time since he had known them, their faces accurately reflected the darkness that sometimes moved in their eyes. He knew better than most that looks could be deceiving. Had seen the effects firsthand. But Brennan and Jesse had always seemed so young. Jesse's passion seemed to manifest itself as exuberance, his features boyish, unfinished somehow. He lacked that hard edge, that ruthless quality. But there was nothing boyish about his features now.

Brennan was always a problem because of his fiercely stubborn drive and his unending ability to hurl himself into the hunt. But if he had been asked, Adam would have always said as pack follower, not as wolf. All that passion, all that energy that normally seethed and rolled off him in a hundred chaotic directions was suddenly leashed and bound, held motionless with a hungry anticipation that was excruciating in its predatory patience.

Adam re-closed his eyes as the boat lurched beneath him, pain lashing out in furious depth. Spots danced mercifully before his eyes, and he gave in, knowing there was nothing he could do, knowing his team had lost their innocence long before he had been ready to admit it.

They stood together; hard coiled explosive potential.

Watching.

Waiting.

And most terrifying of all, under absolute control.

They would be the ones bringing him home this time.

He surrendered to the blackness

Instinct brought Shalimar's eyes suddenly open.

She blinked, forcing the darkness away. Brennan stood above her, his naked chest glimmering in the rain. The steady thumping of the engine vibrated against her back, and she realized with a panicked start they had stalled. She sucked in a breath, turning her head slightly. Jesse was on his knees, pressing a wad of wet fabric into Adam.

She shot up, ignoring the stiffness of her body.

Jesse moved to her, even as Brennan's eyes dropped down to meet hers, concern etching his face, but doing nothing to hide the tenseness of his stance.

She recognized it immediately.

They were on the brink of battle.

She struggled to stand.

"Shh, stay still." Jesse gently stroked her temple, and she jerked at the smell of blood on his hands.

Adam's blood.

Her eyes hardened, tongue darting out to lip parched lips. "What happened?" She couldn't feel anything. "What happened!"

"Hey, hey," Jesse caught her face with his hands as she struggled again. Her eyes rolled up, meeting Brennan's, calming. "Shalimar listen," Jesse spoke loudly, calmly, "The shots missed you, but a tree fell across the boat, knocked you out cold."

She nodded into his touch, remembering Brennan throwing himself at her and pushing her down from something. Her head was pounding. Whatever had slammed into the back of her head, it couldn't have been the whole tree, but it felt like it. Brennan had knelt beside her, Jesse now standing on guard, and she caught his gaze as he lifted her, cradling her against his chest.

"Are you ok?" Her voice was a whisper.

He didn't answer, cupping her face, thumb stroking over her cheekbone lightly. "Does this hurt?"

She lifted a hand, grimacing at the growing bruise on her cheek, the tender swelling on the back of her head. She dropped her hand. "No."

"Stubborn as always." The slightest flicker of a smile came into his voice. "At least the bleeding has stopped."

"Adam?" Her voice rose. "Emma?"

"They're alive." His eyes searched hers, then he shook his head and let out a long frustrated sigh.

"Guys, they're coming." Jesse interrupted them, and they turned immediately, rising beside him. Sudden understanding twisted his gut. "They want Adam."

"He's the last survivor on the list." Brennan's face shuddered, eyes hooded. "Eckhart needs his DNA."

"Then let them try." Shalimar's voice adapted the hardness of their expressions.

Across the water, the men blinked, as if seeing their opponents for the first time and knowing fear.

They met on the edge of the island just as Emma stirred awake. She knew without understanding that her mind had been violated, compromised as she had lost control of her own body. She knew without feeling him that he was here, that he was responsible. The same blankness she had felt before overwhelmed her now, and she crawled painfully to her knees, clinging to the edge of the beached boat, seeing her team advancing toward battle through the sleeting rain, feeling Adam slowly dying beside her. She exhaled slowly through her nose, gathering strength before turning to face him.

_No, you can't have them. _

She spoke to him, and while he didn't answer, she knew he heard.

It was her last thought.

Carefully constructed defenses that she had spent years building crumbled in an instant as she laid herself bare.

An agonized scream was heard through the din of the storm, and when the next flash of lightening split open the sky, the little boat was gone.

Adam and Emma with it.

"Emma!" On shore, Jesse faltered, feeling the disconnection like a physical blow. In the space of time that passed in which he lost her and when he found her again, his soul rebelled, leaving him shaken with the howling madness stirring within. When she whispered his name, her voice flowed over him, a soothing balm.

_Baby, I'm here. _

He understood immediately what she was doing, and the effort it must be exerting on her.

"Brennan, Shalimar." He abruptly stopped walking. "Go!"

"What is it?" Brennan didn't take his eyes off the approaching figures.

"I have to help Emma!" Jesse stepped back a few paces. "Lead them away from here, they can't get to Adam!"

Brennan caught on, grasping Shalimar's fingers, pulling her along with him as Jesse slipped behind a tree and seemingly disappeared. "Come on!"

Her head throbbed painfully, every jarring step sending throbbing stabs up her spine and into her skull. She felt Brennan pull her forward for the first few steps and then regained her bearing, easily passing him up. A quick glance over her shoulder showed the two mutants quickening their speed. _So stupid_. She grinned at how easily they followed, swinging back around, eyes raking the tangled underbrush sprawling across the tiny islet. The ground had turned slick beneath them, thick cloying mud sucking at their feet with every step. Thunder rumbled angry above them as trees swayed and groaned in the driving wind. There wasn't anywhere to go, but they had to lead them away from Adam.

And then they had to fight.

She led them down the channel where the two islets joined together, sloping down into a tiny stream that waterfalled over scattered boulders. Thunder cracked again, and beside her, Brennan suddenly slipped and fell, tumbling down the hill in a rolling slide of mud, grass, and limbs. He landed hard in the shallow stream in a mad explosion of water.

"Brennan!" She thought he had been shot, sliding down next to him on her knees. She grabbed his arm, realizing after a moment the smears of blood on his chest was Adam's, pressing her nose into his neck for a brief moment as he struggled to catch his breath, the wind knocked out of him. They were being played with again, she realized, grimly pressing her lips together, else they would have used their guns again by now. She urgently linked their fingers together, feeling the rain slide down between their palms.

"Not a word, Shal." Brennan grimaced as he scrambled back to his feet in the slick muck of the river bottom, covered in mud from his ungraceful roll down the small hill.

"Did I say anything?" She grinned suddenly at his embarrassment, sobering when her ears picked up the sound of footsteps surrounding them. The two mutants had split up, closing around on either side of them.

She whirled around, and together they turned, back to back, making their stand.

Brennan's jaw flexed, eyes searching and finding those of the enemy through the mud and the trees. He only hoped they had gotten them far enough away from Adam for Jesse to do whatever the hell he could do. They needed to finish this thing off, and get the others back to Sanctuary. Fast. He felt Shalimar's back stiffening against his own, knowing she had found the face of the other mutant. He heard the snarl as she bared her teeth, felt the wet cotton of her shirt brush against his skin as they circled around, rain pouring down upon them and river water lapping at their ankles.

_Shalimar._

She stared, beyond the eyes of the hesitating mutant and into the violet-eyed ones of her past. Her knees shook, unable to move

Shock.

Fear.

She shivered, time suspended. "It--it's not you."

He grinned at the harshness of her voice, raising an eyebrow. She saw his mouth open, but heard no words, sound rushing back as time quickened, lightening splitting open the sky as a shimmering wave of air suddenly smashed into her.

She flew backwards, hearing Brennan grunt as they collided mid-air, hurled further down the sloping stream. There was the clink of metal, the scraping sound of a rusted door being opened, and they landed in a heap at the base of a yawning cavern that suddenly appeared where trees had stood moments before.

"What the—"

Brennan was cut off as, with a wave of his meaty hand, the large mutant hit them with another telekinetic punch. Again, they were knocked backwards into the gaping cavern, shooting down an incline, totally out of control. The floor of the cavern dipped down, and they found themselves briefly airborne before slamming back to earth in a great splash of water. Instinctively recognizing that neither of them were injured, Brennan indulged himself with a few seconds of virulent cursing and sputtering as they hauled themselves upright in the knee deep water.

"What the hell just happened?" Brennan's teeth chattered as he eyed the tiny room where they had landed. He turned to look at the shivering feral beside him.

Shalimar scowled as she saw his swiftly hidden grin as he took in the sopping locks plastered to her head and dripping in her eyes. She opened her mouth, snapping it back shut as the sound of sliding metal creaked and a giant door closed across the entrance of the cavern.

Their eyes met in stunned disbelief.

Dim lighting from recessed underwater lamps bounced off stone walls that stretched further than they could see. Muddy water swirled around their knees, debris knocking into them. The air was damp, moldy.

"What is it with Eckhart and hidden underground tunnels?" Brennan heaved in frustration, kicking the water in anger.

"Did you see the way those trees suddenly vanished?" Shalimar wrapped her arms around herself, shivering in the cold darkness.

"Yeah, right after I stopped to smell the rosebushes we were flying through." Brennan muttered as he ran his fingers across the cool metal of the door. It was seamless, and he groaned in frustration.

"It was another hologram," Shalimar ignored his sarcasm, searching the walls of the tunnel. "This must be part of the compound."

Brennan grunted in pain as he rammed his shoulder against the heavy door again and again, slumping against it when he finally gave up.

"We have to get out of here, Shal." His voice dropped, and he swallowed heavily. "Jesse's out there alone…Emma is sick, and I don't know how much longer Adam can make it. Shal, he might already be--"

"Don't say it!" She whirled back around to face him, suddenly angry. "He'll make it!"

"Hey, hey." He sloshed through the water, crossing over to her. "It's ok." He cupped her face, running his thumbs over her eyes, pushing her heavy hair behind her ears. "It's ok." He bent down, meeting her eyes. "I'm sorry, you're right. Adam is strong."

She nodded, closing her eyes against his touch. "Let's go home, Brennan."

They were the same words she had whispered last night out on the beach. A shiver ran down his spine, pulling her into his arms. It felt like another lifetime ago. Her arms tightened around him for one glorious moment, and then she stepped back, reality rushing back. He nodded, clearing his throat, following after her as she turned and walked down the dim tunnel. It sloped further downward, and the water rose to waist level. Condensation dripped from above, and Brennan frowned uneasily. "You think this tunnel runs under the water to the other island and the compound?"

"Could be." The thought didn't seem to disturb Shalimar as much as it did him. "It wasn't very far from here."

They fell quiet as they continued walking.

Shalimar felt a rush of air and paused, running her fingers along the wall. "Brennan, there's a hole in the wall, just above the waterline."

"Can you see anything at the end?" Brennan bent over, but couldn't see anything through the darkness. He ran his fingers across the opening. The hole was large, big enough to crawl though.

"There's light." Her eyes glowed golden as she turned her face up to him. "What do you think?"

"Let's try it." Brennan nodded after a slight hesitation. "This tunnel is only taking us away from the others right now."

Shalimar grunted in agreement, squirming into the tunnel.

After a moment, Brennan forced himself to follow. They emerged into a dimly lit tunnel built of more stone walls, running parallel to the first. The far end of the tunnel was hidden in shadows and the ceiling curved low enough that Brennan had to bend his head awkwardly to avoid scraping his scalp. Water swirled higher in this tunnel, and he watched Shalimar nervously as she turned and headed in the direction that lead them back toward the islet. The force of the water kept pulling her under every few steps, and he finally grasped her waist, pinning her to his side. "Bad memories." He clenched his jaw at her inquiring look, and she stayed silent, understanding. The memory of the last time they had struggled through rising water in a tunnel was too fresh, too painful, and she locked her own arm around his middle. Debris floated past them, occasionally hitting them, and she feared what waited for them at the end of this tunnel. Knocked back and forth by the force of the water, Brennan almost missed it when his hand, dragging along the ceiling for support, disappeared into thin air. He lurched, grabbing onto Shalimar to keep her from disappearing into the deluge and felt around cautiously.

It was another tunnel, this one drilled straight up into the ceiling. He was about to thrust his arm all the way into the hole when Shalimar grabbed with both hands, restraining him. A moment later, she snatched a thick branch from the floating debris, thrusting it into his grip. He paused, and then thought about the fact that this might be an air vent of some kind. His fingers twitched spasmodically as he considered the sick image of his hand thrusting up into the blades of a spinning fan, and he swallowed back a sudden urge to vomit. Smiling weakly at Shalimar, he pushed the branch up into the hole. Nothing. No sudden drag indicating that the branch had caught on anything, no sudden upward yank as blades grabbed hold. Nothing. He threw the stick back into the water, considering. Shalimar made the decision for them, placing both his hands around her waist, indicating that she wanted a boost. He hesitated again, looking up into the dark space above them.

"We have no choice, look." He followed the direction of her gaze, staring in disbelief at a solid stone wall set with several six inch pipes across the top. "We must be in some sort of overflow system." Shalimar grimly shook her head.

Brennan stared at the dead end. There was a steel hatch set into the wall at the end. It was obvious that the hatch was meant to be opened inward. They would never be able to open it against the water pressure. He rubbed his hand against his face tiredly, looking back up into the hole in the ceiling.

It was then that the world seemed to explode.

He had a brief vision of Shalimar turning a startled face toward him when it felt like the ceiling caved in. Weight slammed into his shoulders, and he barely had enough time to draw a deep breath before the water closed over his head and the weight carried him to the floor. At first he was too stunned to panic, and then he was too busy trying not to panic to move.

He was pinned flat against the floor.

Desperately he shook his head, trying to get his face clear, and he was losing the battle with panic when a familiar and welcome set of hands wrapped themselves around his face.

Shalimar.

He forced himself to stay still as her hands searched him. His lungs were beginning to burn when the weight suddenly lifted, nausea making him dizzy with the need for air as her hands again grabbed him, pulling him upward. He gave a few desperate kicks to right himself, gasping greedily when their heads popped above the surface. He found his footing, water now swirling up to his chin, and without another word, hoisted Shalimar up into the hole above them, praying desperately that another burst of water wouldn't come pouring down upon them. She disappeared from sight, hand dropping back out a moment later to pull him up. Despite himself, a quick grin flashed across his face; he loved her strength.

The sides of the stone were slick, and he gritted his teeth as he braced his back and knees against the rough slab, inching his way up slowly and painfully. Muscles strained and shook with effort, eyes closed against the water and dust Shalimar dripped down above him.

"Hey Bren?" Her voice was strained.

It took him a moment to answer. "Yeah?"

"No more tunnels for a while, ok."

He half chuckled, half groaned. "Whatever you say, Shal."

The tunnel narrowed, and he grunted, suddenly afraid of being stuck in this position. He didn't know if his spine could handle any more compression. Above him, Shalimar easily scampered higher, and he frowned miserably. She gave a sudden gasp, and his heart slammed into his throat, pounding fearfully. "Shalimar!"

"We made it." Her voice held wonder, disbelief as she suddenly felt the coolness of the wind and rain against her face, turning her face up into the sweet drops, laughing in relief. Brennan nudged impatiently against her, muscles screaming in protest, and she scrambled out of the tunnel, reaching down to help him climb out as well. His broad shoulders barely fit, and he groaned with relief when he was free.

They found themselves on the second islet, twenty feet from the stream where they had first been blasted into the cavern. The hologram was back in place, and the end they had emerged from rose straight out of a tree stump. Brennan stared at it a moment, running his hand over the top of the stump, shaking his head in disbelief as his hand seemingly pushed through shimmering age rings and back into the tunnel. When he pulled his hand free, the surface smoothed back into the rough look of a center log.

"Escape route through the overflow tunnel?" He shook his head in amazement.

"Brennan." Shalimar's hand on his arm caught his attention.

The battle had continued without them.

Through the slanting rain, they could see that the little boat was visible once more, still beached at an odd angle. Adam was nowhere to be seen. Emma was on her knees in front of the boat, hands clutched to her head as she rocked forward. As if sensing their presence, she peered up through heavy strands of red hair, finding them.

Shalimar barely recognized the eyes that latched onto them through the curtain of wet hair; they were black with effort. But she recognized the rage within. She understood the fear, and felt her own answer in return.

Jesse was a few yards in front of Emma, face writhed in agony as he struggled to stay massed, veins popping in his neck as his body vibrated with shock at the pain being blasted at him by the shorter mutant. The one that could somehow tie into people's pain centers. Shalimar's eyes darted back to Emma's, recognizing now the seething black mass as fury gnashing its teeth, crying to be let loose. The feral's eyes sparked in reply, and the air stank with the fear that then arose.

Their fear.

And hers.

The fear that she would be too late. That she would let them down. Again. That she would move too fast and damn herself…or move too slow and damn them all. She suddenly realized what Adam had meant when he said he wanted to give them the illusion of innocence. She had believed him when he said his secrets were for their own good. She had just not understood.

_This must be very difficult for you. _

Her eyes squeezed closed at his voice. Not again. Icy rage shot through her and it was only barely that she kept her hands from smashing the smug expression she could hear in his voice from his face. He thought he had her pegged. Laid out and exposed, neatly spread out for the hunter's knife, ready to be gutted. He was wrong. Adam had understood better than anyone what dancing on the edge could do to a person. She took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and bared her teeth in challenge.

It was over before it even began.

Shalimar felt Brennan's soul answering the outraged cry of her own, rushing headlong into the abyss with a defiant scream. She followed without hesitation, guided by instinct.

They were the distraction that Emma needed. The two mutants turned at the rushing attack, only to be taken out from behind by a single, simple blast from Emma.

They crumbled to the ground with disappointing ease, and the four members of Mutant X were left looking at each other in shocked silence.

Shalimar turned away first, head bowed in the rain, shooting back up a moment later as she remembered. The beast pacing back and forth in her brain paused as it considered the violet-eyed man before her. It snarled softly. Claws flexed and drew themselves across her spine with aggrieved insult. The ever present anger shimmered slightly as the adrenaline wore off and left her shaking. Mental lips curled as she contemplated mind games and manipulation. He had thought he had her pinned.

_The day will come eventually. _

The beast chuckled softly in her inner ear and was reflected in her eyes. He watched with wary body language. She watched him back. The hunter suddenly smiled ruefully, and then disappeared. She blinked, and the howling started, hands shaking. _It's not him._ Her own darkest fears and desires from the abyss coming to claim her.

She turned back around, meeting the faces of her teammates, her family, and saw the same resigned expressions looking back at her.

Together, they had all fallen willingly.

And together they stood, silently acknowledging everything left unsaid. The battle had changed. It was no longer enough to know the truth. In retrospect, some of the battles they had paid so much to win were hollow, empty victories. Now they had to find a way to win the war.

Brennan carefully considered the bodies before him, the storm raging above them, the mud clinging to their feet. He heard a moan echo from within the wooden slabs of their boat, and he turned his back abruptly on it all.

"Let's go home."

Rain came down in great sheets, washing the blood smeared on ragged faces, torn and tired bodies. It fell into the stream in great drops, bright red swirling in the rush of white water before slipping away as jean-clad legs trudged doggedly forth through the water and tired feet pushed through muddy silt, taking them back to the boat. Mud shifted and settled, and in the end, as the little boat shuddered to life, engines reversed, churning up water and debris, no footprints were left.

And the earth continued to cry.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer—See Chapter One

A/N: I'm so sorry again for the delayed update! I am writing as much as I am able, but it's just not quite fast enough. Sorry about that! Thank you all so much for your patience and for your comments! Tunder28, Mxfan214, Rain and Mayra (I'm so glad you guys are liking Emma! She is the one hardest for me to write! Thank you!), CatJerica, Blackpanther (Hope you're surviving school! Thank you!), EternalFire-angel. Susie, I'm so happy you're still reading! I was afraid I had lost you. :) Hope your holiday went well , and thanks again for everything! Adele, thank you! I hope all your questions will be answered eventually:) Fiery Feral and Redhead2, I can't thank you both enough for all your encouragement! I have loved reading all your thoughts all at once. :) I'm so glad you were able to get caught up! Thank you so much! I tried not to leave you with too much of a cliffhanger on the previous chapter since I wasn't sure when I would be able to update next, and I swear that was my intention this time around as well. But one of my betas was able to read this chapter for me before I actually posted it, and said I was being mean. Oops. :) So I will do my best not to leave you hanging too long. I'm only about halfway done with the next chapter, but I'm writing whenever I can. In the meantime, here is the next one finally for you. I hope you enjoy! Thank you!

Traveling On—Chapter Ten

Adam was dying.

Shalimar couldn't take her eyes off the man who had become her surrogate father over the years, could smell his blood even through the thick glass she stood behind, forehead pressed against the blue-gray tinted window, biting her lip so hard she bled.

She didn't notice.

She could hear the worried voices vibrating through the glass, Emma as she stood with hands on either side of Adam's face, bending over him, soothing him, and Jesse as he muttered under his breath, not at all sure if what he was doing was helping or hurting. She closed her eyes, inhaling the pain, barely feeling Brennan's hands as he squeezed her shoulders from behind and buried his face in her hair.

Only recently had Adam begun working with Jesse one on one, showing him more than the basic medical skills they all knew, teaching him on simulations. While the technology in Adam's lab ensured precision diagnostics and virtual assistance, Jesse had yet to work on a real person.

Two gunshots wounds to the chest were hardly the scenario he would have chosen to start with.

His hands shook as he bent over the deceptively small holes in Adam's chest. The blood had been cleaned away, the stench from the discarded tshirts and gauze used to staunch and then clean the blood still burning in his nostrils. He was fortunate the bullets had gone cleanly all the way through; he could use the dermal regenerator on the entrance and exit wounds. Adam's right lung had been penetrated, collapsing shortly before they got him back to the lab. The second bullet had torn through his shoulder, ripping muscle, but missing the vital artery. His skin was dry and loose, and in some places on his face, Jesse could see lines of broken capillaries under the skin and faint bruising. The computer beeped, telling him that Adam's heartrate was too fast at 110 and his breath was coming in short, rapid pants. He had slipped into shock and his skin temperature felt cool, although he was running a low grade fever according to the scan. He had managed to get him intubated and a single chest tube inserted under local anesthesia. He didn't know what had been worse, cutting the incision between the ribs or placing the tube into the space between the inner lining and outer lining of the lung. When the suction began, he had turned away, gagging. The IV needle had been easy after that, giving Adam back vital fluids from so much blood loss. Initially, the diagnosis had been severe dehydration, respiratory distress and potential renal failure. But Adam's machines had worked their magic, his body remarkably strong, stubborn. Emma worked hard to keep all of them calm, and when Jesse finally turned away pale and shaken, she had wrapped her arms around him from behind, sinking to the floor with him, stroking his back when he began to retch.

Just a few days ago, Adam had been the one working to repair the damage done to his lungs; the irony of the role reversal wasn't lost on him now.

"You did it, Jess." Emma whispered soothingly in his ear. "Adam will be so proud of you, we all are."

"I don't think I have the stomach for this," Jesse groaned self-deprecatingly.

Emma chuckled softly, tangling her fingers into his. His hands were still shaking, and she tugged gently, raising them to her lips, pressing soft kisses on each knuckle. When she lifted her eyes, she met his, seeing the haunting fear still lingering with the relief, concern washing over him as he turned his attention to her next. Silent tears filled her eyes, dripping down her cheeks at his look. "I'm ok." She shook her head slightly.

"Emma—" Jesse's mouth opened, then closed, jaw working silently. "Out on that boat, when you…I was so scared—"

"It's ok." She caught his face, framing it with both hands.

"No," He gripped her fingers desperately, suddenly struggling to rise. "You don't understand, you were seizing. We need to examine you—"

"I know." She interrupted him, allowing him to lead her to an empty lab bed. She sat down, staring at her hands. "But the scans won't show anything."

Jesse watched as her fingers fiddled with the hem of her shirt. He noticed they were trembling. "Emma, what happened?" His stomach soured as he began to understand. He clutched her shoulders, bending his face to make eye contact. "What did he do to you?"

She rolled her eyes upward, trying to stop the tears, smiling when he thumbed them gently from her cheeks. "I recognized the blankness from the club this time, so I knew he was close, but he got to me before I could stop him."

"He must have known you had the power to keep them from getting Adam."

She made a helpless gesture, closing her eyes. "A lot of good I did."

"Hey, stop." Jesse slid his hands back up her shoulders to frame her face. "You were amazing, you saved us again."

She smiled slightly at his words, wincing at the pull of bruised muscle. She had struck the side of her face when she collapsed, and a deep bruise was beginning to well. Her hair had dried in limp tangles, and mascara was smudged under her red eyes, swollen with emotion. Jesse shook his head in silent awe. "Look at you," He breathed, gently tugging on her chin when her head dipped down in embarrassment. "I've never seen anything so beautiful."

She huffed, arms wrapping around his neck as he pulled her into his arms, burying her face into his shoulder, breathing in his comfort. She could almost forget the darkness when she was enveloped within his arms.

"We'll get this guy, Emma." Jesse pulled back, jaw set in determination. "He won't hurt you or Shalimar anymore."

She nodded, thinking of something else. "Jesse, there's more. I—I think I recognized him." She stopped abruptly when Brennan and Shalimar walked into the lab, glass doors sliding shut with a quiet swoosh behind them.

"One of the mutants?" Brennan had only caught her last few words, only half paying attention as he crossed over to Adam's side. He had filled Shalimar in on everything she had missed that morning while they had waited through the long night, watching Jesse work. Brennan bowed his head, remembering his anger at the man who now lay still before him. "How is he?" His voice was hoarse.

"We'll have to watch him closely." Jesse cleared his throat, watching as Shalimar cautiously bent over the chest tube. "But he's stable, resting. I'm hoping his lung will re-expand enough so I can remove the tube tomorrow."

"Do you think we should've taken him to the hospital?" Brennan still worried about their decision.

"It's too risky; Eckhart would've been on him in a minute." Emma wiped the back of her hand across her face, drying the remainder of tears. "Besides, Jesse is doing an incredible job."

"We saw." Shalimar turned from her silent inspection of Adam to look at Jesse, a sudden smile transforming her face. "You saved his life."

"Looks like there's a lot of that going on lately." Brennan clasped Jesse's shoulder as he walked past him to stop in front of Emma. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm ok." She smiled at his concern, resting a hand on his arm.

"I'm glad." Brennan's voice was hoarse as he looked down, feeling Shalimar's hands on his back as she joined them. Out on that boat, it had been like seeing his nightmare come to life. He shook his head, still feeling the fear and horror deep within his bones. Emma's look grew questioning, but he shook his head, pushing the feeling further away, smiling back at her. He didn't want anyone else to know about his dreams. He cleared his throat. "So what were you saying about recognizing someone?"

Emma's smile faltered, and the question grew heavy on the air.

"You saw him too?" Shalimar was staring at Emma, expression strained.

Emma's eyes were dark, searching the feral's for a silent moment. "Yeah." Her head nodded in a quick jerk.

"It's not him." Shalimar's jaw flexed stubbornly.

"Ok, what?" Brennan could feel the hesitation and dread coming from both of them. "What is it now?" He glanced at Jesse, but the molecular looked as confused as he did.

Shalimar and Emma exchanged heavy glances.

"Brennan," Shalimar turned toward him, hand on his chest. He recognized the gesture as one meant to calm him, soothe him.

It had the opposite effect.

"Shal," His fingers dug into her shoulders, eyes pleading with hers. "Please."

She knew he couldn't handle what he perceived to be any more secrets. She nodded and felt the immediate relief in his grip. "Earlier today…out on the boat, I saw Alex."

"What?" Brennan's hands dropped abruptly, stumbling back slightly, remembering. "You said his name before you passed out." He looked at her almost accusatory.

"He was standing in the doorway of the compound, shading his eyes with his hands. And then he was in that other boat." She spoke quickly. "Brennan, he—he was holding a gun."

"No." Brennan stopped moving, arms crossing defensively.

"I saw him too, Brennan." Emma closed her eyes at the pain she knew her words caused. "Only he..he had violet eyes."

Violet eyes. Brennan didn't know whether to laugh or cry in disbelief. "You're trying to tell me that Alex is this psionic? The insane psychopath that's been haunting Shalimar and attacking us?"

"That's impossible." Jesse spoke up for the first time, shaking his head. "Eye color aside, it had to have been some sort of illusion."

"I agree." Shalimar took a step toward Brennan again. "I've known Alex longer than anyone. I don't believe it was really him, it can't be."

"No, of course not." Brennan still hadn't moved, muscles coiled as he crossed them tighter. "My brother would not hurt any of us."

"Emma?" Jesse prompted the redhead in the ensuing silence.

She winced when she felt all their eyes on her. She took a breath, opening her eyes, finding Brennan's as they bore into hers. "I don't want to believe it either, I just know that I saw him, _talked_ to him, and that they—they felt the same."

"What do you mean?" Shalimar's voice was gentle, ignoring the glare Brennan turned on her.

Emma had the inane urge to scratch her nose, the itch growing as everyone stared at her. "All that time that Alex was with us, I was never able to read him, get a hit off of him. He said it was because he had learned to keep up tightly controlled walls, and I believed him." She pinched her nose instead, struggling to explain. "And then in the club and at our other encounters with the psionic, I couldn't sense him, only a strange sort of feeling of emptiness, blankness, that I've learned to associate with him." She lifted her head, finding Brennan's hard gaze again. "It wasn't until I actually _saw_ him that I made the connection."

"Which was what?" Though his tone was soft, it was edged with steel.

"That the feeling I got from the psionic was the same I got from Alex."

A muscle jumped in Brennan's jaw as he regarded her silently. He turned and walked away without another word.

Shalimar stared after him, at the lab door as it swung shut.

"I'm sorry." Emma sank onto the bed, covering her lips with shaking fingers.

"You didn't do anything wrong." Shalimar reached for her, clasping her trembling hand in both of hers for a brief moment before slipping out after Brennan.

"Hey, it's ok."

Shalimar heard Jesse reassure Emma as she strode down the hallway after Brennan.

"Brennan!"

"Not now, Shalimar." He didn't stop walking.

"Brennan, wait!" She caught up to him, grabbing his arm.

"I can't do this right now, Shal." He spoke tersely, pulling his arm out of her grasp.

"Too bad." She stepped in front of him. "Because we are."

He glared down at her, turning away from her with a frustrated sigh. "I said no—"

"Brennan, stop." She moved with him, hands pressed into his chest, not letting him turn away. "Just stop."

He shook his head, mouth working silently, struggling for control. "Damn."

She closed his eyes at his whisper, sighing.

He spun abruptly, fist ramming angrily into the wall. "Damn it!"

She watched as he leaned forward, bracing his arms against the wall. "We'll figure this out Brennan. One way or another—"

"One way or another, we lose." He groaned, chuckling disparagingly. "Don't you get it, Shal? It's like some cosmic joke. We stop some horrific possibility of the future from happening only to find out my long lost brother is the cause."

"We don't know that for sure."

"Yeah," He straightened; face set as he brushed past her. "But I'm going to find out."

"Brennan—"

"Let him go, Shal."

She frowned, glancing over her shoulder at Jesse as he came up behind her.

"He just needs some time to blow off steam, you know how he is." His arm stole up around her shoulder, offering support.

"Yeah," She sighed, leaning her head against him. "That's what scares me."

"Hey, it'll be ok." He kissed the top of her head gently.

It was the same thing she'd heard him tell Emma. She smiled, arm snaking around his waist. "What would we do without you, Jess?"

"Lucky for you, you'll never have to find out." He grinned, laughing as she playfully slapped his chest. "Come on." He turned her around, walking her back toward the lab. "Let's take a look at that head of yours."

"I'm fine," She automatically protested.

"You were hit in the back of the head by a tree," Jesse's brow arched in reminder. "Humor me."

Shalimar let Jesse fuss over her, waiting to find out that Emma was alright as well before shuffling her way back to her room. She was tired, hungry, and sorer than she wanted to admit. Though the blood had been cleaned and soiled rags removed, she could still smell it sickening the air, could smell Adam's unconscious fear as he struggled for breath against the foreign object shoved down his throat. She passed Brennan's room for her own, stopping short outside her door.

He was in there.

She hesitated, blowing out her breath before opening the door. She wasn't in the mood for more arguing. She was too tired. The room was dark, and she blinked, adjusting her eyesight to the dim light. She heard him breathe, heard the rustle of sheets as he sat up from her high bed, legs swinging over the side. She closed the door, leaning against the back of it as she watched him, mildly surprised to find no smell of alcohol on him. It was what he normally did when he stormed out in anger. Never enough to lose cognizance, just enough to dull the pain. She didn't think she'd ever actually seen Brennan drunk. He wouldn't allow himself to give up the control, even for a few hours.

He seemed to read her mind, squinting at her as he held his head in his hands, back rounded inches below the ceiling. "I couldn't leave." He slipped down from the bed, catching the blanket as it almost fell to the floor, walking straight up to her. "I couldn't leave." He repeated hoarsely, eyes searching her face.

She went into his arms with a sigh.

He led her to his room.

In the shower, she closed her eyes and leaned against his chest. The hot water felt wonderful as it sluiced over them both, warming her chilled skin. He carefully soaped her hair and body, then rinsed her gently. She tried hard not to let him see how weak she was, but her knees buckled as he toweled her dry.

He swore and picked her up.

After he tucked her in bed, he slung the towel he'd used on her around his naked hips and sat down beside her. She searched his face. With everything that had happened…last night…today… They'd reached a turning point, she suddenly realized, there was no going back. She closed her eyes at the thought.

She felt his hand lightly stroke her temple.

"Shal? Please don't shut your eyes, you're scaring me."

She opened her eyes and met his worried gaze, managing a small smile to reassure him. "I'm ok, Jesse scanned me, and I don't have a concussion. I'm just…tired."

"Yeah." His fingers slid down to her chin, outlining her jaw.

They were silent a moment.

"You hungry?" Brennan stood abruptly.

"Starving." She smiled at him, sitting slightly up, holding the blanket to her chest, watching as he padded across the room. He seemed oblivious to the fact that he'd lost his towel and if anyone came in, they'd see a very naked Brennan. She bit her lip despite the throbbing in her head. She should have known he would be an exhibitionist.

"Here." He returned a moment later, handing her a shirt.

She pulled it over her head, taking a moment to press her nose into the soft cotton, welcoming the scent of warm Brennan. She felt enveloped in a cocoon of his smell, wearing his shirt, laying in his bed. She lifted her head as she heard the door swing softly shut, brow furrowed. He returned a few minutes later, carrying toast and tea. She was relieved to see he had taken the time to pull on jeans and a shirt before he left. She smiled at his offering of food, curling up beside him on the bed and watching him as they ate ravenously. He didn't say much, and she didn't either.

She was having a hard time keeping her eyes open and laid back down, settling her cheek on the downy pillow. Her eyes drifted shut, and then she must have dozed off because the next thing she heard was the snick of the door.

He was letting himself out.

"Brennan?"

He came back in and closed the door, crossing to her side of the bed.

"Can't sleep?" He brushed the damp hair off her forehead with his fingertips.

"Not really." She pushed back the covers and sat up.

"Want me to get you anything?"

She studied his eyes. The expression in them was preoccupied. His mind was somewhere else. Her gaze fell on his body. He was wearing a dark jacket. "Where are you going, Brennan?"

"Oh, just…" He trailed off and looked at her a little more fully.

She looked back at him and waited.

He licked his lips, then sighed. "I'm going to go try to buy a gun."

"No."

"Shal, that compound was surrounded by water. You know we'll have to go back there." He frowned, looking away. "I was useless today, Shalimar, dripping wet."

"No," She reached out, linking her fingers with his and tugged. "That's not our way."

"I have to be able to defend—"

"No."

He looked at her for a long moment, conflicted and finally sighed, letting her pull him down onto the bed beside her. They lay in silence, lost in thought until Brennan finally spoke. "I've been thinking about it, Shal. Maybe it really was Alex out there."

"What?" She turned toward him in surprise.

"What if he was there undercover, only pretending to be on their side?" He ducked his head and looked at their intertwined fingers, rubbing the band of her ring. "He could have followed Eckhart there."

"Ok." She nodded slowly. "So why the change in eye color? Why the shooting to kill?"

He shifted restlessly. "I don't know, Shal. I don't know what's going on. But I just can't believe he would willingly…" He shook his head, leaving the sentence unfinished. "But if he does, if he touches any one of you—"

"I know…" She whispered. His eyes were shot through suddenly with a dark emotion she wasn't sure she wanted to categorize and she trailed off. He was very much on the edge, she realized. Desperate, dangerous. They were the eyes of a cornered male who would protect his own or die trying. She understood better than anyone, her expression growing more intense, squeezing his fingers hard. "I know."

His eyes met hers, and they stared at each other, the tension thick in the air between them, then she nodded slightly and he nodded back.

He dropped his gaze and reached out, stroking the curve of her waist, covered with the soft cotton of his shirt. His hand moved down to the hem but didn't lift it, just brushed warm across her thigh.

All at once he stood and started shedding his clothes. She took a deep breath of relief, the tension in the air dissipated abruptly as if it had never been.

He turned out the lights and crawled beside her, wrapping his arms around her. He pulled her against him, fitting her close against his body with a sigh. She could feel the strain in his muscles. Today had been too close a call.

Yet again.

She hugged him a little tighter, startled to feel him wince. "Brennan?" She pulled back a little from him and gave a tiny gasp. In the dimness, she could see the skin of his shoulder was an ugly purple and green. She hadn't noticed it before. He must have taken the brunt of the tree across his shoulder. "Brennan." She softly reprimanded, turning him around, examining him. She probed as gently as she could through the swollen skin at the bones beneath.

He craned his neck to look at it. "It's fine." He reassured, though she could see he was trying not to flinch as she pressed along the line of his clavicle.

The tree would have killed her, she realized in sudden certainty. She raised her eyes to his, but he made no comment, just looked at her. Her eyes dropped to the angry skin of his shoulder again, then fell lower. She examined the skin of his back and turned him to check his ribs and stomach. He grunted when she pulled at the waistband of his boxers, but allowed her to push them down as she checked his back again. She let out a breath, relieved there didn't seem to be any other injuries.

"You're ok."

"Yeah."

Suddenly she wanted to forget, just for a little while, and make him forget everything as well. She sighed, running her fingers along the line of his jaw as he turned back toward her, hands sliding down his chest. And then his hands were on her upper arms, pulling her to him and his mouth was on hers. But even as she heard him moan into her neck, even as her legs wrapped around him, she knew without having to see that there was a sadness in his closed eyes that she couldn't erase.

He awoke to the sound of the breaking rain. Even in the deepness of their mountain home, he could hear it clearly. The storm had continued throughout the night. Brennan sat up, groaning as he rolled his sore muscles. A quick glance over his shoulder told him Shalimar still slept. Her face was flushed, hair fanning wildly across the pillow. He leaned over her, running his fingers through the tangled mass, loving the thickness as he pressed his nose into the top of her head. He nuzzled her temple, pressing a long kiss to her forehead before gently untangling himself from her. He paused to shrug on his shirt and jeans, making a mental note to get his belt back from Jesse when they hung lowly. He tugged them back up as he slipped out the door, padding barefoot down the hallway. He made a beeline for the lab, resting his forehead against the glass when he found Jesse slumped sound asleep over his keyboard. Emma was curled up on one of the lab beds, and Adam lay silently. A glance at his monitors told him he was lost in the land of drugged sleep. Brennan was glad; he knew the older man would be hurting when he awoke. He watched them a few more minutes before shoving off the glass, getting a bottle of water from the kitchen before settling in front of one of the computers in the rec room. His fingers tapped the mouse, waking the screen saver, startled to see the grainy picture of Danny still open on the screen, the one he had opened yesterday morning before all hell broke loose. He thought a moment, typing in a single word.

Naxcon.

He quickly found the company's website again, chewing his lip as he studied the brief biography given on Shalimar's father. When he had told her about his dreams, he had purposely left out the name of her father's company. He knew Adam had planned to have her go there undercover, but he didn't like the idea. They still didn't know how the company was connected to Haines or the list or to Danny for that matter. Adam said Haines had been driving a company car. He rapped his fingers on the desktop. How the hell did Alex fit into all this as well? He rolled his shoulder, wincing at the stiffness. It was all getting too damn personal. First Shalimar's father and now his brother. He moved the mouse again, enlarging the small picture of the gray-haired man that was her father. There was little resemblance between them. He sighed, dropping his head into his hands.

Back in his room, Shalimar stirred restlessly in sleep. Her fingers twitched spasmodically, back arching for a moment, whimpering, before calming again, eyes rolling beneath their lids, seeing another childhood that wasn't her own. A lanky dark-haired boy running as fast as his skinny legs could carry him, a tow-haired boy and another with large glasses running beside him, glancing over their shoulders at a burly man waving his fist in anger. Three boys, scrambling down a manhole, the grated cover sliding back in place just as the man stormed past. Shalimar rolled in her sleep, kicking off the covers, still seeing a small round face with owlish glasses peering out at her through the grate, the image boring into her eyelids.

Brennan tiredly rubbed his eyes. He was exhausted and should be resting. The storm raged outside, and he glanced up as he felt the electricity surge in response under his skin. He frowned, flexing his fingers. It was still dark, but morning wasn't far off. It would be another long day, and he couldn't afford to be distracted. He narrowed his eyes at the picture. Shalimar rarely spoke of her father and only then it was with pain in her eyes. He wouldn't let anyone hurt her ever again, not even her father. He sniffed, finally closing the picture and finding the contact information on the site. He tore the paper label off his water bottle, scribbling down the phone number and shoving it into his pocket as he turned off the computer. Overhead lights flickered as thunder rumbled lowly in the distance, and his system cried out in reply. He glanced briefly both ways, tossing the empty bottle into the air and frying it with a crack of satisfaction.

It was hours later when Shalimar awoke. A moody glance at the clock told her she had overslept, and she turned her head to see Brennan was still sleeping, dark hair sticking up in messy spikes as he hunched under the covers. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat up. Stretching her arms over her head, she arched her back.

Ouch.

She winced, lifting her hair where it was stuck to the back of her neck. Her skin was covered with a thin film of perspiration. She squinted at the clock for a moment, willing the hands to turn back, to give her more time, groaning when it only ticked forward in baneful ignorance. She slapped it face down, stumbling into the bathroom and twisting on the tap in the tub. Blessedly hot water streamed forth, and she padded back out into his room, finding the shirt he had loaned her last night and slipping it over her head before sneaking down the hallway toward her own room. She returned a moment later, dropping in a handful of bath salts into the steaming water before she slid down into it with a grateful sigh. She had dreamed about his childhood again. She frowned, mind touching on him briefly then slipping to nothingness as she relaxed back and let the water rise to her chin. She shut her eyes and drifted back to a half sleep. Finally, feeling half human again, she sat up and sluiced herself with the fragrant water, then rose from the tub and dried her hot skin, her movements as languid as the air around them. She dressed slowly in front of the mirror, moving closer to stare at herself. There was a graze on her cheek and a large, ugly bruise marked the skin over her lower left ribs. She didn't remember how it happened or even feeling it last night. But now it was sore. She wiped her hand across the fogged mirror, reaching for Brennan's comb.

_Shalimar._

The comb slipped from her numb fingers and clattered loudly to the tiled floor.

_You can run but you can't hide. _

She gasped, stumbling backwards as the mirror fogged back over with each ragged breath she heard in her ear. "What do you want?" She clung to the edge of the sink.

"Shalimar, you ok?" Brennan stirred awake in the next room.

_I know everything about you, Shalimar. The institution. Your time on the streets. I know how wild you can be. _

She paled at his words, tongue darting out to lick suddenly dry lips. "H—how?" She jerked, knees buckling as handwriting slowly began appearing across the fogged up mirror, one letter at a time.

_I AM HIM._

"Shal?" Brennan appeared in the doorway, scratching his chest as he yawned.

The words burned into her eyes, fingers digging into cold porcelain. She whimpered, reaching up a quick hand and smearing them away.

_The day will come eventually._

"Shalimar?"

Brennan's hand on her shoulder startled her, and she jumped, whirling around.

He was gone.

"Hey, you're shaking." Brennan was still talking, his chest rumbling beneath her ear as he pulled her into his arms. His body was still warm from the bed, and she sank into him. Her pulse raced beneath her skin and she realized her teeth were chattering.

"What is it?"

Her eyes were stinging. "He was here."

He looked away. "Alex?" He whispered.

She avoided his gaze as well. "Yes." She hesitated briefly, clearing her throat. "No."

He hugged her tighter, hands rubbing up and down her arms until she stopped trembling. Finally he pulled back. "Let's get out of here, Shal."

Her face wrinkled in confusion. "What?"

"I need to get out of here." He shook his head, and she felt his frustration. "Let's—let's take a walk." He turned, collecting his clothes and starting to put them on.

She decided not to question him, following him out into the bedroom, sinking down onto the edge of the bed to watch him. She glanced uneasily around, on edge. How had he gotten to her inside Sanctuary? She bit back a groan, feeling her one safe place slipping away.

"Can you hand me those?" Brennan pointed to his pants that were lying in a tangled lump at the end of the bed.

Distracted, she lifted them to him by the legs. As he took them from her, his wallet fell out onto the bed. The scrap piece of paper he had tucked into his pocket slipped out as well, but he had turned and didn't see it fall. She reached for it, intending to hand it to him, but the writing caught her eye.

Her father's name and phone number.

Her father.

Why the hell would Brennan be contacting her father? She narrowed her eyes, immediately trembling. With everything else that had happened today, it was too much. Her voice came out like smoke. "Brennan."

He looked over at her, startled by her voice, only to be confronted by pure betrayal in her face. He saw her fingers clench around the paper and closed his eyes.

"What aren't you telling me?"

"Shal, I'm sorry." He reached for her, but she jerked back.

"Tell me."

He sighed, leaning back against his desk, still holding his pants. "Jesse found out that the Haines'car was actually a company car, from Naxcon. Adam wanted us to go there, but we got sidetracked when you found Dave and we ended up at the Marina."

"Naxcon…" Her voice trailed off, eyes focusing past him. "That's my father's company."

"I know." Brennan turned and pulled on his pants. He felt vulnerable enough without being unclothed. He could feel her eyes watching him.

"What else?" She spoke again suddenly.

"What?" He spoke too quickly.

"You're hiding something from me."

"No—"

"What else!"

She was seconds from erupting. He shoved his hands into his pockets, shoulders hunched. "In my dreams, Shal, Adam and Emma were killed somehow at Naxcon."

She stared at him.

He could almost feel her receding from him. "Shal—"

Her eyes met his again. "Why didn't you tell me before?" She asked in a raspy voice, her tone half hurt, half accusatory.

"Because I wasn't sure. I'm still not sure. I don't really remember. They're just dreams, Shalimar."

Her face soured. "They weren't just dreams before. You said you never followed up on Danny and horrible things happened. You believed in them then. And when I asked, you told me there weren't any other clues or anything else in them!"

He was starting to get irritated by her instant anger. "I didn't want to upset you, alright? Not until I knew if it meant anything."

He'd chosen the perfect sore spot.

She lifted her chin and centered her stare on him. "So it's ok for you to keep secrets, but not for the rest of us."

"That's not what I meant."

"But it's exactly what you've done."

"Shal—"

"You should have told me, Brennan."

He saw her hands ball up into fists.

"Shalimar, how do we know any of it is real?" He looked at her, exasperated. "How do I know what I'm seeing is anything but horrors born out of a terrible experience?" He waved his hand in the air. "How do I know you wouldn't go off and do something crazy—"

"He's MY father!"

"Which is exactly why I didn't want to tell you until I was sure!" He yelled back.

Her face contorted in frustration. "You lied to me."

"I was protecting you!"

"You were patronizing me!" She took a breath, forcing herself to lower her voice. "When someone else keeps a secret, they're lying. But when you keep a secret, it's for my own safety?"

"That's different."

Their words came quick and loud.

"—You're rationalizing to the point where you're lying to yourself—"

"—Running off into danger and jumping to conclusions before you know what's going on—"

"—It's not your job to protect me from—"

"—from yourself?"

"Damn it, Brennan. It's my decision. It's my father!"

"And it's my dream!"

She scowled. "You can't protect me all the time. If we are to have any chance at all, Brennan, you have to stop doing this, you have to let me go."

"You want to go?" He growled, lowering his voice. "Then go."

She took a step toward him. "Brennan—"

He turned abruptly, bending over his desk, tired, angry. "Just GO."

She made a soft sound, expelling her breath in a rush. Her arm hung protectively around her stomach, and she turned from him quickly, nearly running out of the room.

The door slammed shut between them.

It occurred to him as he suddenly turned, face stricken, that this was exactly how his dream had ended.

Only this time he was wide awake.

He collapsed weakly on the edge of chair and bent over, elbows upon his knees, head down, groaning. _No, no, no, no._ It wasn't supposed to be like this. How had he managed to screw things up so badly yet again? _Sometimes love isn't enough_. He winced, remembering, the words seared into his soul. He was a fool. He groaned, pushing up off the chair, storming through the doorway, stopping dead in his tracks as an eerie rasping filled Sanctuary.

Jesse and Emma burst from the lab, and Shalimar froze in her escape, turning slowly back around.

The four members of Mutant X stared at each other, faces strangely drained of color as every computer in Sanctuary flickered madly, screaming back at them.

"…So I have seen, so shall it be…"

In the lab, Adam's eyes suddenly flew open.

It had begun.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer—See Chapter One

A/N: I'm still not sure how long this story will be, but am slowly working my way through my outline! Thank you again so much for your patience while I slowly get it written. Thank you so much to Rain, blackpanther2288, CatJerica, Mayra, Fiery Feral, Mxfan214, AussieMXfan, Shal35, Anamalia-Fear. Once again, your comments and encouragement blow me away. Thank you! Redhead2, glad to see you were able to get caught up despite all the interruptions. :) Thank you so much! Tunder28, you must be a speed reader! Almost as soon as I post a chapter, your review comes popping in. I love that. :) Thank you! I'm so sorry for the long wait, I'm trying to do better! Kitty Invictus, I'm glad to see you're back! Thank you for your reviews, I always love reading your thoughts and reactions to things. (Happy Belated Birthday by the way!) I'm about half way through the next chapter, so will again post as soon as I am able. I didn't end on a cliffhanger on purpose with this chapter, so I tried to be a little more kind this time at least! Not to say there won't be more cliffhangers to come…that just wouldn't be any fun. :) There is a lot of dialogue in this chapter, so I'm not too happy with how it turned out. But I hope the emotion keeps the momentum still going anyway. Some of the parts in italics come from episode 222 (for you, Ana!). My goal has been to take some of the themes that are just touched on in 222 and to explore them a little more, so you'll see that attempt in this chapter. Thank you!

Traveling On—Chapter Eleven

Nothing made sense anymore.

In the roaring of sound through leaden ears, Adam whispered the words burned into his heart.

It had begun.

Years ago when those same words had been uttered by a sickly little boy with a shocking mop of curly hair, Adam had dismissed them. The babies he had worked so hard to save would grow to become ordinary men. That was his goal after all; correcting abnormalities to make them normal.

Nothing more.

Little did he know back then how much he would be proven wrong.

He blinked, confused, feeling pain seep in beyond the hazy edge of drug-induced comfort, blinking again when the rasping voice was suddenly silenced. The words hadn't made sense back then, and they still didn't make sense now. He realized as the world around him slowly came into focus that he was back at Sanctuary, laying in one of the beds within his own lab. He searched his memory, remembering being in the boat, nothing more. He lay still for a moment, feeling strangely disconnected from his body.

Until he tried to move.

And then a whole new set of pain ricocheted up and down his body, feeling his pulse in the agony that radiated out from his chest. His legs, arms, and neck felt like they were going to leap off his torso of their own accord. The world dipped to the right and for a second, Adam thought he was going to pass out. The lab door rattled open, and he felt the reverberation in minute detail as it tingled its way through his limbs and heard the gasps all around as his team entered the room, rushing to his side to catch him as he almost slipped from the bed. He gagged, fighting to breathe. _How had it come to this?_ That their roles were so grossly reversed.

Nothing made sense anymore.

_Careful._ He silently begged as hands gently pushed his legs back into place and settled a light blanket across his waist, blacking out before he could hear their response.

"What the hell was that?" Shalimar watched Jesse as he checked Adam's vitals, hands shaking as she smoothed the cotton blanket over Adam's slack body, fingers skimming over his forehead, noting the beaded lines of sweat across his flush brow. She could feel Brennan's eyes on her, but refused to look at him.

"We were accessing the files from the first disk," Emma explained, crossing over to one of the computers in the lab, hesitating briefly before scrolling through it. "Jesse opened one of the files, and it was like it somehow took over Sanctuary's systems." She closed the file and then reopened it, waiting. Nothing happened.

"The disk Alex got from Dr. Shaw?" Brennan dragged his eyes from Shalimar, crossing over to stand behind Emma, peering over her shoulder at the screen. "I thought it was destroyed."

"The disk itself was destroyed," Jesse spoke distractedly, frowning as he watched Adam's heart rate. "But we found the files on Sanctuary's computers. Adam must have saved it before we left on the mission."

"Replaying it must have triggered that recording again, the same one we heard in the helix." Emma shook her head, scrolling through the information. "But I don't understand how—"

"Or why." Brennan gravely pressed his lips together.

"Something about that voice…" Emma abruptly pushed back from the computer, knocking into Brennan.

"Emma?" His hand fell on her shoulder in concern.

She shrugged it off, turning away. "How's Adam?"

"I think he'll be out for a while now," Jesse turned from the older man, sinking into a chair. He sighed, tiredly scrubbing his face. "That voice must have really agitated him; he was obviously trying to move."

"How much you want to bet it's connected to another one of his damn secrets," Brennan huffed, eyes skimming through Dr. Shaw's notes, but seeing nothing of importance.

Shalimar growled lowly at his words, rising, the pointed heels of her boots drumming angrily into the smooth tile as she crossed the room.

"Shalimar—" Brennan breathed in frustration, eyes closing as she brushed past him. His fingers reached for hers, but missed, and the door slammed shut behind her.

Jesse raised his brows, looking at Emma. The psionic mutely shook her head, eyes warning him not to comment as Brennan rose and followed after her without another word.

The door to the garage swung open suddenly and unexpectedly, disturbing the rain that insisted on its constant drizzle. Shalimar barely noticed, driven out into the cold dampness with the heat of hurt and fury. The more she thought about it, the more her hurt turned into anger, and she turned sharply away from the beach and up the mountain toward the treeline instead. There were too many memories the other way. Behind her, the water roared moodily, stirred up by the storm, and the sound urged her on.

He was behind her; she could hear him jogging after her in the sloshy mud. She couldn't believe it.

"Shalimar—"

She whirled around, still backing up away from him. "Leave me alone, Brennan." She sputtered. "Isn't that what you told me to do? Go?" He still followed, and she turned again, increasing her speed. She didn't know where she was going, she wasn't thinking. She just wanted to escape. He was following her for some reason. Guilt. Anger. Whatever he wanted, she wasn't in the mood to give it to him. She was headed crookedly through the trees up the mountain, struggling as she sloshed through weeds that came up past her knees.

She felt his hand on her shoulder.

She froze and faced him, her eyes pure venom. "Don't touch me!"

His hand pulled away from her as from fire, and her heart broke. She realized the only thing she wanted was for him to take her in his arms. The hurt entered her face and she couldn't stop the tears this time. "Don't touch me," She repeated softly, turning her face away before he could see her cry.

She pounded on through the grass. Away. Away. Away.

"Shalimar! Just…just stop!" Brennan pleaded.

She froze again a few feet in front of him, hanging her head low and balling up her fists.

Brennan swore under his breath. He couldn't believe he had messed it up so badly, so quickly. Because he couldn't control his temper. He had no idea what to say, and he had to say it now. "I shouldn't have said that. I didn't really want you to leave."

Her back stiffened, refusing to answer.

"You were right, ok? I should have told you about your father. But you have to understand, I was just trying to protect you—"

She heard him step closer, whirling around. "Do you _really_ want to have this conversation again?"

He paused, blowing out his breath in frustration, struggling to explain. "This wasn't me doubting your abilities again, Shalimar, or trying to keep a secret from you. I just—I just couldn't bear to see you hurt again."

"And this is better?" She gestured with one hand, the rain falling miserably between them.

He closed his eyes against the onslaught, panicking when he heard her turn to leave again. "You left me."

She stopped, tired. "What?"

"In my dreams, I was responsible for Adam and Emma dying. I shut down and wasn't there for you. I hurt you, Shal, and you left me."

She turned slowly back around, looking at him. He stood, head down, alone. She bit her lip.

"You told me that sometimes love wasn't enough." He looked up, and she was shocked by the rawness of his eyes. "I don't want that future for us."

She sighed, stepping closer. "Neither do I, Brennan."

He surged forward, grasping her elbows. "I can't lose you, Shal."

She smiled suddenly, softly, reaching up to push the wet hair off his forehead. "Then you have to learn to let me go."

"Yeah." He sighed, eyes closing at her touch, springing back open when her hand fell limply to her side, groaning, one side of his mouth lifting in chagrin. "It's hard."

"Brennan, I know you feel like you failed your mother when she died, that you didn't do enough to protect her." She saw his eyes flicker in surprise, taking a breath. "And I know that it's hard for you to trust people with everything you've been through, I know all that, and I understand, I do." She stepped back, turning away. "I'm just asking that you understand my side of it as well."

"So what is your side?"

"What?" This time it was she who turned in surprise.

He stood with hands on hips, a hint of challenge. "Why is it you seem to know all about my past, but I know almost nothing about yours?"

Her eyes narrowed. "What has that got to do with anything?"

He made a sound of frustration in the back of his throat, shaking his head. "God help me, I love you, Shal. But you ask me to understand you, to let you go, but I don't know what the hell that means."

She looked away.

"You once told me that it goes both ways." He stepped closer, catching her chin, tugging gently. He was shocked to see the pain in her eyes as she reluctantly looked up at him. "You were right, Shal. I should have told you everything about my dream, about your father. I shouldn't have kept anything secret from you, especially with how I've been hurt so much by the same thing." He swallowed thickly; thumb tracing the furrow in her brow, the rain as it rolled down her face. "I'm sorry."

She nodded jerkily, leaning into him, and his arms rose around her, holding her against his chest. They stood still until he felt her relax against him. He fisted her hair, turning his face to the sky, eyes closing against the rain. When he finally spoke, his hoarse whisper caught her by surprise. "What did he do to you, Shalimar?" She stiffened, pulling away, but he tightened his hold. "No more secrets, right?" His words stirred softly against her hair.

She sniffed. "Brennan—"

He bent his face to hers. "When you're ready, I hope you can help me to understand."

She pulled out of his arms, walking a few steps away. He watched her silently. "You grew up alone, Brennan, but not because you were unloved." She wrapped her arms around herself, staring into the trees. The sky was dark, the air cool. It fit her mood. "Your parents died, and it was a horrible thing, but they didn't leave you by choice." She took a few more steps away. "Mine did."

_Oh Shal_. He felt the stab of pain in his chest, eyes following her as she almost disappeared into the fog.

Her words came back to him, carried on the wind. It was easier for her to speak to the air. "I grew up happy, loved, daddy's little girl, until I suddenly stopped being normal. At the hardest point in my life when nothing made sense and I couldn't understand what was happening to me, I was abandoned, institutionalized, conveniently thrown away so their life could go on without me."

"Shal—" He took a step toward the trees.

She was startled to feel his warm fingers on her lower back, turning into him as he pulled her back into his arms.

"I'm sorry."

She barely heard him, feeling the familiar hurt and anger coiling within. "I hate him, Brennan. You would do anything to get your family back, and I hate mine." She had to stop to catch her breath, to keep herself from shrieking. He wanted the truth, then she would tell him. She wanted him to hear it, every horrible word. She squirmed in his arms. "Does that shock you? I HATE him!" She met his eyes then, and saw something that astounded her.

He loved her more now. She didn't think it was possible. He was angry. Upset. Hurt. And hopelessly in love with her.

She stopped moving against him, unsure how to answer the look in his eyes. "I hate him," She mumbled, losing all conviction in her voice.

His eyes would give her no peace. "No, you don't." He said firmly.

"I do." She said weakly, beginning to succumb.

"No you don't. We're your family now Shal, you know that. But he's still your father. You don't have to see him ever again if you don't want to, but I can see it in your eyes, you still care about him. No matter how much it hurts, it's still there."

She exhaled sharply, as though all her breath had suddenly left her.

He felt her shift beneath his hands; saw the fear in her eyes. "It'll be ok, Shal. We'll figure it all out."

She stilled, sighing, finally turning her face up to his. "No more secrets?"

He cupped her cheeks tenderly, smoothing back wet curls. "No more secrets." He kissed her softly, a healing apology, and in the rain and the mud and the grass, they held each other tightly. And in the silence, it felt like recovery.

Floating candlelight flickered shadows across shallow water, marred only by the small foot that occasionally disturbed it. Jesse smiled at the scene as he rounded the corner, leaning against the wall, watching Emma from afar as she stared into the fountain. He was tired, watching Adam throughout the night in the lab. He knew Emma must be as well. Now that he had been able to remove the tube helping Adam breathe, he felt comfortable leaving him alone for a few minutes. Adam would awake soon, and he was in desperate need of a shower, but the sight of Emma had given him pause. She sat on the edge with one leg folded comfortably under her, shoulders rounded and hunched. He knew she often came to the fountain to relax and meditate. With the dimmed lights and floating candles and trickling water, she had told him it helped to soothe her often frazzled mind. He heard her sigh and frowned, studying her posture more closely. At the moment, she looked anything but serene. She looked…lost.

Emma frowned, moodily kicking her foot across the water, feeling a sense of satisfaction when water droplets arced across the surface, extinguishing two of the candles. She kicked again, hitting one more, straightening abruptly when she heard a soft step.

"I'm fine." She spoke without turning around. She didn't have to look to know it was Jesse behind her. _Are you ok?_ His mind was screaming the question so loudly; she almost forgot she was the only one that could hear it. She smiled to herself when she next felt his surprise, realizing she had answered him before he had even been consciously aware of the question.

"You scare me sometimes." Jesse shook his head as he shot her a grin, nudging her with his shoulder, settling beside her on the fountain's edge. He reached, catching her fingers and pulling her hand into his lap, sighing when she failed to respond. "Hey, what's wrong?" He tugged gently on her fingers for emphasis.

"Nothing...everything…" Emma shook her head, at a loss to explain.

"You're worried about Alex?" Jesse rubbed his finger against the smoothness of her ring.

"Alex, Adam, Brennan, Danny, this psionic…" Emma made a face, leaning her head against Jesse's shoulder.

"Yeah." He chuckled under his breath in understanding chagrin. They were silent for a while, listening to the trickling of the water. Jesse stared absentmindedly at Emma's toes as she arched her foot, dashing the flame out on another candle. Beneath the water, her foot looked impossibly small, and he shifted slightly, tightening his hold on her. "I'm worried about you, Emma." He finally broke the silence.

"Me?" She lifted her head, looking casually away. "Why?"

"Do you really have to ask?" Jesse raised his brows, gently challenging her. He watched her profile in the candlelight when she stayed silent. "I know something is bothering you, beyond the unknowns of this mission. It took me a while to see it, but I know you've been hiding it for a while now."

"Jess—" She pulled slightly away, turning her face back to him after a brief hesitation, smiling brightly, teasingly, as she ran her fingers lightly up his shoulders.

"No, not this time." He refused to be distracted. He hadn't always recognized the defensive mechanism in the past, but he did now. "We need to talk about this, Emma."

"There's nothing to say." She abruptly dropped her hands.

"I think there is." He waited, but she refused to be baited. He sighed, reaching over and recapturing her hands. He slowly spread her fingers, sliding his own in between one at a time with a gentle caress. "I think you've changed, but you're afraid to let the rest of us know about it."

"We've all changed this year—"

"Yeah, but the rest of us can't kill with just a single thought." He heard her sharp intake of air, felt her mental blocks rising like a slap in the face, but he kept up the gentle stroking of her fingers. "I can't even begin to imagine what that kind of power feels like, but just because you can, doesn't make you an evil person, Emma."

"Are you sure about that?" She turned to face him suddenly, letting him see the darkness swimming in her eyes.

He smiled tenderly, lifting a hand and palming her cheek, meeting her eyes head-on. "Yeah."

She nervously licked her lips. "I've done things, Jesse." Her voice was a dry whisper.

He watched her eyes shift uncertainly, dropping. "Look at me, Emma." He gently commanded. "_Feel_ me. Do you sense any fear or derision from me? From any of us? We've all done things we're not proud of, but that doesn't mean those actions define us."

"Jesse—"

"Let me finish." He shook his head in determination. "I've thought about this a lot, and I think there's a little bit of that darkness in each of us, but I also think that's why we're so good at what we do. We understand how power feels."

Emma closed her eyes, nodding in resignation. "Sometimes too much." She flinched as Jesse soothingly stroked her fisted hands with the pads of his fingers. She hadn't even realized her hands had clenched so tightly.

Jesse continued as if she hadn't interrupted him. "I also think Adam knows that and it's one of the reasons he's so filled with guilt. As much as he hates what his work has done to us, he also needs us to finish what he invariably started. It's always been the biggest irony of Mutant X, our using the very same powers that we're fighting against. But the fact that we have that power, that we understand the darkness, doesn't mean we are the same." He managed to relax her hands, tracing the marks left on her palms where her nails had dug into the flesh. "It's about choices, Emma, it always has been. And you've already made that choice, whether you realize it or not." He paused, waiting until her eyes opened, leaning over, invading her space until their faces were inches apart. "You make it every time you save one of us, and you made it when you told us about Alex despite the pain you knew it would cause…hell, the very fact that we're having this conversation in the first place." He lifted his hand, resting it on the nape of her neck, tugging gently, closing the distance between them. He rested his forehead against her, whispering. "Choices, Emma."

She nodded back, her own fingers tangling into his short hair, wanting so badly to believe. Jesse did. And his belief could be strong enough for the both of them. She sought his mouth, pushing all other thought away, save the way he made her feel at this very moment. _Choices_. She groaned, melding her body into his until their even the reflection of their watery shadows in the flickering candlelight looked as one.

Brennan let the hot water of the shower pound down over his shoulders, erasing the evidence of his run through the mud and weeds, hands braced against the tile. He had mostly meant to give Shalimar some space when he left her in her own room, but had found the confusion in his own mind demanding an outlet as well. And so he lingered under the water, even when it turned cold and his body began to shiver. More had happened in the past few weeks than in the past few years of his life. He had thought joining Mutant X was the biggest life-altering event in his young years, next to the death of his mother. And while in some regard, it still was the pivotal moment that saved him, the last few weeks had changed him. Somehow the past and present had collided to make him more aware than ever of the fragility of the future. By one small choice, he might not have followed up soon enough on what had been a routine assignment of placing someone into the underground. By some strange twist of fate, his dreams had shown him in time what that seemingly small choice would have made of his life. So many paths, so many possibilities. So many choices. The future of the team, the fate of his family, the fortuity of his relationship with Shalimar. It all hinged on choices. There were so many paths they had chosen, so many roads they had already traveled. And now he was chasing dreams in hopes of finding the right one. He had not been lying when he told Shalimar no more secrets. And not just for the reasons she might have thought. And not just because they were better together or because her influence allowed him to go further without falling off the edge of reality. He almost smiled as he remembered the first time he met her, hearing her footsteps coming up behind him, and choosing to close his fist on the building sparks, suddenly seeing the possibility of letting the enemy flee. It had been enough. Her smile of approval as he blew out the dust from his fingers, her laughter as he turned his back on the danger and held out his hand to his future. It had been a choice. He doubted she would ever know how important that had been.

Because two are only stronger together, if they are each whole in and of themselves.

And she had allowed him to heal himself and become whole. Even when she was not beside him, he still knew she was somewhere, ready to come charging to the rescue, waiting for him to come back. The thought that this might someday cease to be was the root of his worst nightmare. He couldn't take the risk of losing her, of losing any of the members of his family. And so he chose to believe and chase the road of his dreams. He sighed, turning off the water. Time was passing; he had procrastinated long enough. He stepped from the shower, pausing to shake his head, water droplets flying everywhere, striking the mirror and slowly running down the fogged glass as he walked past and into his bedroom.

"How are you guys doing?"

Brennan's voice broke Jesse and Emma apart. They glanced over at him as he stood leaning against the wall behind them, Emma's face red, but Jesse's arm keeping her firmly against him.

"What? Am I interrupting something?" Brennan's broad smile belayed his innocent tone as Jesse glowered at him.

"Did you need something, Brennan?" Emma slid discreetly off Jesse's lap, turning in his arms and leaning back against his chest. She took in Brennan's damp hair and crossed arms, frowning slightly. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah." He quickly dismissed her concern, pushing off the wall. "Just trying to make sense of everything."

"I think we all are." Emma acknowledged, feeling the edge of his thoughts.

"Where's Shal?" Jesse stood to his feet, holding out a hand to Emma. She bent, cupping a hand into the fountain, pouring water over the remaining candles. The room darkened as the last of the small flames went out.

"She's changing." Brennan pushed his hands into his pockets. "We thought we would check on Adam and try to figure out the next steps."

"Sounds good." Emma accepted Jesse's hand, smiling up at him as brushed his lips across her knuckles. Amidst all the latest uncertainties, some things she was surer of than ever.

They walked toward the lab by mutual assent. "Do you think Adam's—" Emma's voice trailed off as Shalimar's raised voice could be heard echoing down the hallway. She cast a look over her shoulder at Brennan, but he was already pushing past her and Jesse. He paused with his hand on the door, eyes staring through the tinted blue glass as her words became coherent.

_"…Because those parents didn't see her fitting in, instead of loving her for what she was, they threw her into a psychiatric institution."_

Brennan heard Emma's gasp behind him, fingers letting go of the door knob. Though Shalimar was talking to Adam, she sensed them and turned, seeing her family, knowing they could hear her. _Shal__, are you sure?_ He locked his eyes on hers through the tinted glass.

She smiled slightly. _Yeah, it's time._ She took a breath, turning back toward Adam as he lay watching her. The older man's eyes were pained, and Brennan knew it was from more than his physical injuries. He sighed, keeping his back to Emma and Jesse, resting his forehead against the glass as Shalimar continued.

_"Can you imagine being ten years old and scared out of your mind in a place like that? They pumped me full of enough thorazine to put ten kids under, but it didn't work on me. So when they found out they couldn't sedate me, they turned to beatings to keep me down. Three or four grown men laying into a little kid…_

She hadn't told him that part before. A muscle in his jaw spasmed, stiffening as Emma placed a hand on his back.

"She needs to tell it, Brennan."

He nodded tightly, keeping his eyes on the tiny woman in front of him, vowing he would kill those men if he ever found them.

_"My father knew, he told them to keep it up. Whatever it took to make me normal…_

"He wants her to go to Naxcon." Brennan growled to Emma, eyes narrowing as he heard Adam tell her that they had to find a way in. He could tell by her stance, she was starting to waiver.

He couldn't take it anymore.

Brennan pushed open the door, barging angrily through, barely aware of Jesse and Emma as they followed behind him. "No, Adam."

Adam clenched his teeth, fighting the pain and guilt. "Someone connected with the company is playing with secrets that could destroy the world as we know it. We have to find a way in."

"He's right, Brennan." Jesse spoke up for the first time, reaching apologetically for Shalimar. "I'm sorry, Shal."

She smiled sadly at him, letting him know she understood as she turned back toward her mentor.

"I'm sorry too, Shalimar." Adam's eyes pleaded with her to forgive him. He cursed the weakness in his body that kept him flat on his back, helpless. "If there was any other way—"

"I know." She caught his hand, sinking into a chair by his bed, resting the back of his hand against her cheek.

"Shal, no—"

"It's ok, Brennan." Emma interrupted him, speaking softly.

"But we _can't_ go to Naxcon—" He trailed off, meeting Shalimar's eyes as she looked up at him from across Adam's body.

"We'll go together," Emma continued reassuringly, missing the look between them. "We won't let anything happen."

"No—"

"Brennan and I will go," Shalimar smoothly countered, "You and Jesse should try to find out more about that compound, we still have to find Danny."

Brennan closed his eyes, groaning. He wanted to protest, but he knew she was right. At least this way Adam and Emma would be protected from Naxcon. He shivered, eyes opening again to find Shalimar as she bent over Adam. But at what cost? She had told him over and over again that he couldn't protect her. He turned away, feeling defeated. He was preventing one nightmare only to walk into another.

"Brennan."

He turned back around at Adam's weak voice.

"Shalimar told me about Alex; we'll get to the bottom of this, I promise."

He smiled painfully, crossing the room to stand behind Shalimar. "Thanks, Adam." He felt Jesse and Emma as they flanked around him on either side, breathing in their support. They were an odd family, created from bits of different pasts, but somehow it worked. Despite their differences, without the emotional support they derived from each other, he strongly suspected they would have burned out long ago. They were tired, they were discouraged. But they were not burned out. They relied on each other, had managed to get behind each other's walls. They could not do their job like they did if they hadn't. They fed on each other, purposely throwing themselves into the battle again and again, walking knowingly into situations that were going to cause them pain. Because the damage that their relationship allowed them to heal from engendered a responsibility to go places that others could not. No matter the cost. Because they knew they could and survive. They had become more than family. It was as complicated and as simple as that. Brennan closed his eyes, praying this coming road wouldn't be the one to destroy what they had so painstakingly built.

His life had become one long routine. Everyday it was the same. He knew it better than he knew the back of his own hand. And right now, it was more stringent than ever, a massive company deadline looming over all their shoulders. Which is why when at precisely two o'clock Nicholas Fox rose from his desk, expecting to be handed the days productivity reports, he was shocked to find the outer room of his office empty.

"Damien?" He didn't even try to hide his irritation as he called for his personal assistant. He was not happy when things did not go according to plan.

But Damien was nowhere to be found.

In the quiet lobby of the building, Brennan and Shalimar spun defensively at a faint noise behind them, but they were not in danger. The woman that stood gaping at them, paper cup of coffee in her hand, seemed to be having enough trouble breathing, let alone offering a threat. Her mouth gaped like a fish trying to breathe air. Once. Twice. Shalimar glanced once at an equally confused Brennan then made the mistake of moving toward the shocked woman.

Her mouth opened again.

Then she screamed.

Before either of them could do more than reach reassuring hands toward the terrified woman, her coffee fell from nerveless fingers and the newest intern to Naxcon Corporation kneed over in a dead faint. Both Brennan and Shalimar were seconds too slow in leaping to catch her and when two security guards barreled through the door, all they saw were two dark forms bending over the body of their fellow employee.

One guard tackled Shalimar just as she was rising to her feet. Instinctively, Shalimar grabbed the beefy man's arm, twisting and yanking as she stood up. The man flew through the air and slammed into the far wall. As the guard sagged to the floor, the other one reached for Brennan. He let him grab him, throwing him over his shoulder. Three seconds later, the second guard was face down on the floor.

Then the rest of the building came to life, pouring into the small lobby in righteous fury.

Nicholas Fox had planned to issue a stern memo to his staff by the time he strode down the hallway to the elevator banks, now ten minutes off his schedule and fuming to himself at the sudden disappearance of all his employees. He was already on his way to the lobby when a terrified scream echoed down the hall just as the elevator doors had opened, revealing the chaotic scene. A flash of blonde hair, and his mouth dropped open. Two more guards from the command center exploded into the hallway, but Nicholas reflexively grabbed one in an attempt to explain. The man's leg swung out to counter the pull and the other one tripped, taking all three of them down together. By the time they had sorted themselves out, two more guards went pounding past. In the space of the seconds it took him to make his way into the lobby, it had turned into a free for all.

Nicholas stopped dead in shock as bodies hurled through the air, slamming into desks and ricocheting off walls. He drew a deep breath, about to bellow out an ear-cracking order to cease when it occurred to him that except for pictures, he hadn't seen his daughter in almost twenty years.

She was beautiful.

And she was winning.

The father in him hesitated.

She was outnumbered and smaller than all of the men around her, but she had something they did not. She and the man that seemed to be with her had an almost preternatural sense of where the other was at any given time. Twice, he winced as one of the guards whirled and instead hit one of his own side. He couldn't decide what to do. The ex-marine in him was fascinated. The CEO was seeing paperwork and lawsuits if one of these idiots broke somebody. The father was horrified. Then the choice was taken from him.

One of the guards remembered that he was armed.

Shalimar must have seen him go for the gun out of the corner of her eye. The guard was focused on the other man with his daughter, and Nicholas was not sure if the guard considered the other man or his daughter the greater threat. Nicholas barely had time to curse as he saw the situation spiraling even more out of control. His daughter fairly flew through the air, putting herself between the armed guard and the dark-haired man with her. And then she seemed to turn direction mid-air, heading straight for the guard. The guard's head turned, his arm reached…

And Shalimar threw a perfect right cross that took the guard square across the cheekbone. She had the gun in her own hand before the man hit the floor. The dark-haired man reached her side, grabbing the lapels of the guard and Nicholas had just enough time to draw breath and yell.

"Enough!"

Everybody froze. Everyone except the new intern. In the sudden silence, the moan of the woman who had started it all echoed loudly and her eyes opened to fix wildly on her boss. Then they slid past him to widen even further in mortal terror.

"G…g..gh….ghost!"

Then her eyes rolled back into her head and she passed out again.

Nicholas looked over at his daughter and started to shake as he finally realized what the intern had seen. After a moment, he identified the emotion as nervous laughter. Both his daughter and her astonished partner were still standing defensively. It was doubtful that his intern had actually gone home last night. The current deadline had hit her particularly hard. Nerves stretched by too much caffeine and mind blurred by not enough sleep, all the exhausted intern had seen was the face of his daughter, looking exactly like the recent picture he had managed to obtain and hang in his office with the brief explanation to the inquisitive woman that she had passed away. He hadn't meant to lie, but sometimes a lie was easier than the truth. He hadn't planned on that lie coming back to haunt him...literally. He grimaced.

Too late now.

Damien was there and by the look on his face, had figured it out. His assistant was the only one who knew the truth about his daughter. He stared nervously at the woman who was his daughter, hardly believing she was standing before him now, clearing his throat as his bedraggled group of employees staggered painfully to their feet. By now, most had figured it out, recognizing her from the picture. Still, a formal introduction was only proper. Nicholas took another long look at the destruction surrounding them and considered it an appropriate punishment for his deception.

"Damien, everyone. Say hello to Shalimar Fox…my daughter."


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer—See Chapter One

A/N: I'm again so sorry for the slow update! I just finished the ending of this chapter a few hours ago and will start working on the next chapter immediately. With the coming holidays, time will be even more hard to find, but I will do my best to update whenever I can. Thank you so much to those staying with me, despite my pathetic slowness. Thank you to Fiery Feral, Anamalia-fear, blackpanther2288, CatJerica, Rain (thank you! I was worried about that!), Tunder28 (sorry for making you wait so long!), Rena (I didn't get to the dialogue scene between Nicholas/Shalimar as originally planned for this chapter, so it will be in the next instead!), Cassidy Wich (I'm so glad you liked the mix of eps in here!). Thank you all so much for your comments and encouragement! Mayra, you'll see some more connection with 222 in this chapter as well. The rest of the story will branch off more, but I had to add a Naxcon scene before doing so. Thank you! Glad you're liking the J/E as well! (You too, Ana!) Susie, I think you'll be happy in the end, I just have to make the journey a little bumpy. :) Thank you! Kitty Invictus, I love all your comments! Thank you! I haven't really thought about it much, but I suppose if I were to name this chapter, I would call it Dancing on the Edge or On Edge or something along those lines. I probably should name my chapters; I've just been too lazy. :) I only managed to make it about half way through my original outline for this chapter, so didn't get to the dialogue and original ending as planned, so I'll have to squeeze one more chapter into this story. Still have no idea how long it will be! But anyway, here is the next chapter for you. Thank you!

Traveling On—Chapter Twelve

_Prelude:_

_The lobby to Naxcon was quiet, a few missed papers still scattered on the floor from where the intern had fallen, the leaves on the potted palm shivering ever so slightly against the hot air blowing from the vent above it. Copper light from the glow of the western sunset was spilling through large glass windows by the time the elevator finally dinged, doors sliding open once more. Footsteps echoed across high-gloss marble, heels digging into the floor, picking up tempo the last few paces to the entrance. Cold air swept in twice---once when a blur of blonde hair and denim left and once again a few minutes later when someone slipped inside. Paper crunched loudly under the fall of a heavy boot, kicked back unheeded and sucked through the closing door just as the sun disappeared into the horizon and the world was left behind, awash in darkness. _

Shalimar stood alone in the doorway, watching.

Brennan moved quietly across the room, seemingly at a loss for a moment as he restlessly cast his eyes about, finally settling his tired body down on the couch. The whole way home, she had been distant, not wanting to accept his touch, not wanting to hear his words.

Her world had been turned upside down yet again in too few of days.

She had met her father.

He wanted to talk about it, but she wouldn't let him. And so he watched her as she watched him, and withdrew further inside herself. Several times he started to say something, and then stopped. He sighed, fingers finding the remote and turning on the TV, flicking through channels.

She pushed off the doorframe, crossing the room to sink onto the other end of the couch.

Flick. Flick. Flick.

She was silent as Brennan continued to mindlessly flip through channels, reruns and news casts flashing across the screen. "That one." She finally spoke up when he began his third rotation through the channels, nodding at an old movie.

His thumb paused on the remote, pushing up the volume until soft voices filled the room. He tossed the remote onto the floor, leaning back against the overstuffed cushion. The movie droned on, but neither paid much attention, lost in thought. Several times more he opened his mouth, only to snap it shut. Finally, after watching her from under half closed eyelids as she shifted on her end of the couch, failing to get comfortable, he reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders, dragging her up the length of his body. She stiffened, but he simply twisted until his back was against the couch, shifted some more until they could both see the television easily and wrapped his arms around her.

Then he grinned.

She glared at him mutinously, not wanting to accept his comfort, but unable to resist him. He knew she had a penchant for using his body as a hot water bottle. It was unfair for him to use that knowledge now. She grumbled as she settled herself more comfortably, and Brennan wisely refrained from commenting. They finished watching the movie in amicable silence and by the time the credits rolled, Shalimar could almost pretend their world was back to normal. Back before she had been haunted by an insane psionic, back before her mentor had lain broken in the lab, back before dreams kept her awake at night, back before she had met her father. In the end though, reality intruded itself and it was too painful to ignore.

He held her when the first tears started, and held her still when the watery tears turned to silent sobs. Though she tried to deny it, the past few hours had impacted her hard.

"I'm sorry—"

"Hey, shh, no." He protested at her whisper, pressing a string of kisses along her shoulder, her temple.

"I've hated him for so long, Brennan. Seeing him again…"

"Brought it all back, yeah, I know." He tightened his hold on her, tucking her more firmly against him, resting his cheek against her. "It's ok, Shal." His whisper stirred her hair

"He promised that he isn't working with Eckhart, but Adam was so sure there would be some connection—" She shook her head. "He claims that the company car was just stolen."

"But that's a good thing." Brennan gently reminded, tucking her hair behind her ears.

She smiled faintly. "You should have seen the look on his face when I told him we're working with Adam. He's convinced that Adam has some plan, but I told him everything Adam told us. I'm not sure he really believed me though."

"I think he hated me," Brennan chuckled ruefully.

"Well, only after he found out we live together." Shalimar couldn't help but chuckle as well, glancing back over her shoulder to meet his eyes.

"Every father's nightmare," Brennan grimaced back, nudging her nose with his.

"Yeah, that and the fact that you're a new mutant." Shalimar's smile dropped. "Guess I'm still not that normal little girl he always wanted me to be."

"Shal—"

"No, Brennan, don't say it." She twisted in his arms, facing him. "I don't want to think about that right now, ok?" She stroked his cheek, feeling the stubble. He hadn't shaved this morning in his haste. She ran her palm down the plane of his face, the rasping loud in the silence. She heard him breathing, felt his pulse surging beneath her. "I love you, Brennan."

He smiled, taken back by her intensity. "I love you too, Shal."

She kissed him, seeking normalcy, suddenly realizing as he kissed her back that the way he made her feel was anything but normal, and she wouldn't let anything, not her father and most certainly not some psionic, take that feeling away from her. All these years, she had thought Sanctuary was her one safe place in the world. _But it's here_, she decided, breathing in his scent, _this is my normal._

When Jesse walked through the room a little while later, he found them sound asleep, wrapped in each others arms. He smiled at the sight, pausing to turn off the neglected television before leaving as quietly as he could. Adam had wanted an update on her father, but it could wait for a few minutes longer.

An explosion brought Brennan abruptly awake, heart pounding as he found himself waking on a gurney. He tried to move, pain racketing his body, fingers tightening on a stiff golden yellow blanket. He blinked, sound rushing in, loud and chaotic, the heat of fire and the cold of the air searing his face. He heard screaming, a voice rising in anger, panic, and realized it was Shalimar, something about her father. Another explosion rocked the ground, and he stared in shock as the remains of Naxcon sunk below choppy waves. This was how it all began, he realized, stomach twisting in fear. He pushed himself off the gurney, legs almost collapsing when through the smoke and the din, he suddenly saw his brother. The dark-haired man was standing on the edge, silently watching the confusion around him. As if on cue, he suddenly turned his head, eyes boring intensely into Brennan's. He opened his mouth, words forming, but Brennan's couldn't understand what was being said. Behind him, a medic turned on a flashlight, and it blinded him. He threw up his hands instinctively, hearing Jesse's strangled call for Emma, overwhelmed at the feeling of despair that struck him as the light continued to grow brighter.

His eyes flew open, staring in the dark. Air surged into his chest, as he suddenly gasped, bolting upright, grappling to catch Shalimar as he almost knocked her off the couch. The couch. He sank weakly back down, realizing it was only another dream. He lay still, heart pumping like crazy. It took him a moment to realize he was shivering.

The Naxcon explosion, it had still happened.

He groaned, pressing his nose into Shalimar's neck as the tremors began to build.

He had failed again.

And his brother had been there.

In her sleep, Shalimar had barely felt the jolt, locked in a nightmare of her own. Fear. Claustrophobia. Three little faces staring out through slitted bars, trapped. Footsteps running by, a sigh of relief and then new panic as the grate hiding them refused to open, becoming their prison. A shadow passed by, a strange crackling laugh and then there was only one face left staring through the bars, owlish eyes grotesquely afraid in the pale face. Panic. Terrifying panic. Tiny arms rose, banging against steel bars until the tender skin of baby fists ripped and the blood ran freely down trembling arms. Her own arms fought for him of their own accord, instinctively, reactively.

"Shalimar!"

She struck out again, fists striking Brennan's chest as he fought to shake her awake.

"Shalimar, wake up!"

She abruptly stopped struggling, collapsing against him as she panted in relief. Brennan blew out a sigh of relief as his own nerves relaxed. He tried to get her to look at him, but she dug in deeper, and he sighed, resting his chin on top of her head, eyeing her with carefully concealed concern. She was not losing weight. If anything, the strenuous missions and workouts she insisted on doing were continuing to add to her muscle tone. Physically, she was as healthy as he had ever seen her. Mentally…

Brennan felt his lips flatten.

It had not seemed so bad a few weeks ago. She had been a bit more cautious, a bit more on the edge. He should have…damn it. He should have known better. She had promised she would tell him if it got too bad. She finally lifted her chin, and he glared at the blue smudges under her eyes suspiciously. Was she getting any sleep at all? His hand grabbed her wrist as she ran it down his chest, and he managed to keep his voice soft enough so that his words went no further than her ears.

"Nightmares, Shal?"

Her eyes widened, startled. Then surprisingly, she blushed. Her reply was little more than a mumble. "No, just some trouble falling asleep."

He watched, strangely fascinated as the tips of her ears flushed purple. That was an interesting reaction. He had figured out rather quickly that her anxiety level skyrocketed the minute she felt something was outside of her control. He was fairly certain it came from a paranoid conviction that the minute she appeared weak, something would happen to the rest of them and she would no longer be able to protect them. He should've been upset, but couldn't help the sudden grin that quirked his lips at the irony. Self-preservation instincts kept his head ducked, but the grin got wider. They really did belong together.

"Yeah, me too."

Her eyebrows climbed into her hairline as she took in his sweat-soaked shirt and pounding heart rate, shaking her head as their eyes met in mutual understanding.

"Shalimar."

Jesse's quiet voice interrupted them, the apologetic look on his face telling them he had waited as long as he could, "Adam is awake and anxious to hear what happened."

Shalimar nodded at him, and Brennan watched as her expression faded into something he found suspiciously bland.

"Hey," He tugged on her fingers as she stood to her feet.

"It's ok, we'll talk later," She pulled him off the couch, laughing as he groaned in protest, resting her head against his shoulder as his arm settled around her waist, following Jesse into the lab.

"Come on, Adam, move already." Emma rolled her eyes at the older man, tired of waiting.

Adam shot her an easy smile, fighting the urge to yawn, feeling remarkably better since the last time he had awakened. It was amazing what a little sleep and morphine could do. He nodded his chin, indicating which chess piece he wanted her to move.

"It's about time--" Emma smiled back at him as she pushed his knight for him. "Hey wait a minute." It suddenly sunk in what he had just done.

"Checkmate." Adam's smile widened at her look. "Remember what I once told you about always knowing your opponent's weaknesses?"

"Yeah, yeah," Emma glanced over her shoulder as the lab doors pushed open, standing up to gather the chess pieces.

"Lost again, huh," Jesse squeezed her shoulder as he came up behind her, helping her pick up the board.

"One of these days I will beat you guys," Emma walked backwards as she grinned at a yawning Adam, jostling her armful of chess pieces.

Jesse followed her out, lying the chess board back onto the side table it was kept on. "He's doing really well."

"He is," Emma tilted her head for a moment, concentrating as she touched the minds of her team. "Everyone actually is considering what's going in."

"We're a strong team." Jesse caught her hand as they headed back toward the lab. "Especially you."

"Jess—"

"I mean it, Emma." He pulled her to a stop, turning to face her. "Adam's in horrible pain, yet you took him away from that for a moment. He was actually smiling! And this despite your own confusion. I don't know what we would do without you."

She smiled tenderly, placing a hand on his chest. "You're the one that reminded me about choices." She ran her hand up his chest, fingers curling into the hair at the back of his neck as she kissed him. "We better get back." She whispered regretfully when he lifted his head, eyes dark with emotion.

He nodded, watching her for a moment as she began walking again, shaking his head as he ran to catch up with her.

The conversation had turned to Alex when they got back into the lab, slipping silently into the room and joining the rest of their team.

Shalimar glanced at them, smiling distractedly as they settled next to her. When she had told Adam they hadn't found any connection between her father and Eckhart, he had nodded thoughtfully, letting it go. She was surprised, curious…relieved. She shifted restlessly, not sure what to believe. Adam had thought Eckhart was using her father. Her father said he hadn't seen Eckhart, but he still carried a hatred for Adam. Why did family have to be so painful sometimes? She sighed, watching Brennan's face as Adam asked him about Alex. Her father, his brother. She pinched her nose in frustration.

"It's not him, Adam." Brennan crossed his arms.

"I don't want to believe it either, Brennan." Adam kept his voice calm, knowing the tumultuousness of Brennan's emotions. "But we have to consider all possibilities. Alex did spend years with Eckhart."

"Not by choice." Brennan glared in his general direction. "And besides, why would he have helped us find Dr. Shaw's work then?" Brennan shrugged his broad shoulders. "He hates Eckhart."

"He destroyed Dr. Shaw's work." Adam gently reminded.

"Because he didn't want any one else to suffer!"

"Or maybe because he didn't want us to have the knowledge or the information." Adam pressed his lips together, suppressing a cough. "I watched him during our last mission, Brennan. I saw hints of darkness within him, I saw Michael smile in approval at Alex's rage and his easy ability to kill without remorse."

"The same could be said of any of us." Emma softly interjected.

"Alex is very powerful," Adam glanced at her, but continued speaking. "It's possible some of that power has corrupted him---"

"No!" Brennan abruptly stood up, chair clattering as it fell onto the polished floor. "Don't say it, don't you dare say it. He is _nothing_ like Ashlocke."

"Brennan—" Shalimar jumped to her feet as well.

"I know, I know," He held up a hand, keeping her at bay, mouth twisting sarcastically. "We're just considering all possibilities, aren't we Adam?" His jaw flexed as he bent to pick up the chair, wrenching it around and slinging his body back into it, straddling it backwards, arms leaning on the backrest.

"Yes, we are." Adam's voice remained calm, turning his face away as pain creased across his forehead.

Jesse stood, silently pushing more morphine until the vein standing out in Adam's temple relaxed and his teeth unclenched. He looked up, meeting Emma's eyes.

Shalimar tentatively sat again as well, watching as the muscles in Brennan's forearms coiled tightly. Guilt lined his features as he watched Adam, along with deep frustration. Fear. She understood all too well. "So what now?" She finally broke the silence.

"I think you said it before, Shal." Jesse looked at his teammates one by one. "Since we learned nothing for now at Naxcon, we need to go back to the compound."

"Danny." Brennan closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. When he stood to his feet again, it was calmly this time, crossing the room. He bent over Adam, cupping his shoulder. "You just concentrate on getting better, ok? We'll take care of everything."

Unspoken, the apology was in his voice.

Adam cracked open his eyes to accept it, asking for one of his own in return.

Brennan squeezed his shoulder again, clearing his throat as he straightened, leaving the room.

Jesse stayed behind for a moment, waiting until the others had left.

"What is it, Jesse?" Adam spoke without opening his eyes.

"Adam, in the end, back on that island, those super mutants died way too easily."

"What do you mean?"

"It was like they had the metabolism of old men, Adam. They were so strong, but yet so weak. It was weird."

"That makes sense." Adam nodded wearily. "Eckhart's been using selective mutation from a set of blueprints, but he doesn't have the required DNA to perfect the process."

"The names on the list…yours." Jesse understood, glancing over his shoulder at the door before turning back around. "Do you really think Shalimar's father is not involved?"

Adam's eyes opened again at the question, meeting Jesse's steadily. "I don't want to believe that either her father or Brennan's brother are involved. But Eckhart needs some way to get the needed materials for his latest project. His current experiments are weak, and he knows it. With what I've been able to learn about Naxcon, the company has access to those materials."

"So what are you saying?" Jesse gently shook Adam's shoulder, rousing him awake as the muscles in his neck relaxed, head sinking into the pillow, eyes drifting shut.

Adam didn't move, but managed to mumble before falling unconscious from the drugs. "If Nicholas or Alex are not involved, then it has to be coming from someone close to them. Keep…an eye on them…"

"Jesse, let's go!"

The molecular quickly glanced over his shoulder again at Shalimar's call, frowning when he turned back around. He still had more questions, but they would have to wait. Adam was out cold.

"Ok," He called to the others as he ran up the ramp into the helix, "Adam will sleep for a while, but I've got his monitors looped into the helix's computers so we'll be able to keep an eye on him."

"You guys ready?" Brennan threw a quick glance around the cabin as he pushed forward on the throttle. Already, he could feel the pull of adrenaline on his system, heart pounding in anticipation as it did with every mission.

"As ready as we'll ever be." Shalimar spoke softly, fingers unconsciously gripping the arms of her seat, seeing the face from her dreams. "Let's go find Danny."

The call for help came before they even arrived.

In a confused garble of panic and fear, Shalimar heard her father's voice.

Brennan heard only the words.

Explosion.

Naxcon had exploded.

In the co-pilot seat, Jesse had taken control from Brennan's numb fingers, already having turned the helix around and roaring toward the fated disaster before Brennan even realized it.

"No—" Brennan snapped awake, eyes meeting Shalimar's as he spoke, seeing the torture in her expression.

She had to help. Even if a part of her still hated him, he was still her father.

By now, Nicholas' voice had cut out, but the connection was still there, muffled horrors played out in real time detail.

There was a moment of silence in the cabin, a quick exchange of anguish and uncertainty.

"You knew about the explosion?" Emma broke the silence with a sharp intake of air, glancing between them, eyes settling on Brennan. "What aren't you telling us?"

Brennan shook his head, not making eye contact. "Nothing, I just—"

Emma frowned, interrupting. "Brennan—"

"You died."

"What?" Out of all the possibilities, she hadn't expected that one. Her fingers gripped her thighs, feeling the overwhelming emotion.

"What's going on, Brennan?"

Brennan could feel Jesse's eyes boring into him now as well. "Look," He sighed, "I've seen this explosion already, in my dreams. I can't explain it, but all I know is that Adam and Emma…die from an explosion at Naxcon. We can't go there."

"Brennan," Jesse raised his eyebrows. "It's just a dream."

"So was it when I dreamed about that mist back in the cave, but yet it would have killed Shalimar. I know it's crazy, but—"

"It's not." Emma had a strange look on her face.

"What?" Jesse abandoned the controls this time, turning all the way around in his seat to look at her.

The helix dipped sharply, and Brennan grabbed the throttle, evening it out. The line crackled; a muffled scream. Shalimar flinched.

"It's not crazy." Emma finally looked up, catching Brennan's gaze. "But we have to go anyway."

He sucked in a breath, feeling the sense of panic whither, a false calm taking over his body and recognized it as Emma's presence. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Shalimar watched their exchange intently, making a small strangled sound in the back of her throat when the line went dead. "Guys—"

"We're going." Emma turned her face away, staring out the window.

Jesse watched her for a moment, jaw flexing as he turned back toward the front, retaking the controls. "Then let's go."

It had been an exceedingly long day for Nicholas Fox, the wonder and confusion of meeting his daughter mixing with the more practical demands of a looming deadline. Even after the sun had long gone down, the air growing chilly, he had been bound to his desk, his team with him, despite the prospect of another long night without sleep. And so when his intern had staggered into his office, in shock for the second time that day, he had felt a flicker of impatience. His mouth had opened, intent on barking an order, when the alarms began to ring. A frown of annoyance, the utterance of her words before she fainted, and he knew he was in trouble.

"He th—threw fire from h-h—his hands!"

Heavy footprints sounded outside his office just as his hands reached for the phone, fumbling for the number his daughter had given him a few mere hours ago.

Death was almost instantaneous.

Almost.

In a searing blast, an explosion of fire roared through the building toward Nicholas Fox and his unconscious intern, leaving behind a string of seared corpses and lungs empty of oxygen in its wake. For all its speed relative to human perception however, this was a deflagration, not a detonation, and was what saved Nicholas' life. Instinct dropped him to his hands and knees behind the desk, the phone abandoned as he hid from boots that he could see circling the room under the three inch crack between the floor and the frame. A secondary explosion rocked the room and caught the attention of the boots before they walked the two more feet that would have brought him into view, pausing and then turning around, hurrying from the room just as the ceiling splintered, partially collapsing from above. Nicholas heard the next explosion a bare instant before he felt the flames. There was no time to run. He was physically lifted off his feet and thrown into the window. Assaulted by the pressure wave as well as the weight of an unconscious intern, the glass shattered.

The slower shockwave allowed for shifting, cracking, and venting; material in the path of detonation blasted to oblivion. The walls of the great building heaved and groaned before buckling in despair, giving way. Once through the window, Nicholas fell below the path of the blast, protected by the shell of his office and escaping the hungry flames chasing after him. He was burned in places, but it wasn't enough to kill him. Water closed over his head before he could finish the thought.

A driver passing by had the sense of mind to use his cell phone to call 911 and help arrived just as the building began its final collapse. In the arms of a shocked co-worker, the intern bled to death from a severed artery two minutes before the fire trucks pulled up the driveway. The Mutant X team arrived just as firefighters with hose and axes forced their way into the portion of the burning building that had not sunk below the choppy waters, hoping that someone may have survived the blaze. Despite the angry cries of blame that would later fall on various shoulders of responsibility, there was no way that any of them could have really known. No way for them to have realized they were facing a shadowy enemy hardened by soullessness. As far as they knew, this had been just another fire. That actual knowledge died with the poor intern. They were not to blame. It was not their fault.

But ignorance does not protect the innocent.

As the team looked on in shocked horror, the roof exploded. Driven by a titanic fury of a concussive blast wave, the non-reinforced concrete ceiling literally tore itself apart in an agonizing rending of concrete, earth, and sod. Even as the earth ripped apart with the wet sound of ripping silk, flames shot through the gaping wound.

Bleeding from the ears, Nicholas Fox crawled out of the water and out from behind the twisted wreckage of a car that had taken the brunt of the blast and sheltered him in its shadow.

Later, Brennan would recall thinking how eerily silent it was. How he should have been able to hear the screams of people over the flames that he could see as only a bright orange glare reflecting off a scene that could have been cast from a vision of hell. But it hadn't been.

It had been cast in his nightmares.

He blinked numbly as, beside him, Shalimar whimpered and ran forward, catching her father just as his legs collapsed beneath him.

They were alive.

Naxcon had exploded, and Adam and Emma were still alive.

The relieved chuckle died in his throat as his mind's eye again saw his dream, saw Alex as he stood beside him in the shadow of the flame. His mouth again moved, but no sound was coming out. He leaned down close to his ear.

"_I am him,"_ The vision of his brother whispered, breath cold against his ear. "_I am him."_

"Brennan." A hand on his arm startled him; Emma's upturned face writhed in concern as she watched him. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah." He blinked, shaking his head. "Yeah."

"We have to help!" She shouted in his ear about the din, gesturing to the chaos around them.

"Be careful!" He forced his legs to move, carrying him forward to the first of many people injured even as he lost contact with the rest of his team. And all the while, amidst the noise and the heat, his heart was still thumping from his dream.

Shalimar was torn.

Protective instinct kept her on her feet, trotting back in forth in agitation between her father as he was treated on the back of an ambulance and between Emma as she tried to help those hurting around her. _They died._ Though it was seemingly over, and though Jesse stayed close by her, she couldn't bear to let her out of her sight. Haunted by Brennan's words and fueled by feral desire, she couldn't sit still. Though finally contained by sweat-drenched fireman, the fire didn't help any, flickering teasingly, seductively, in the cloudy night, keeping her on edge. She didn't know what time it was when it suddenly occurred to her she hadn't seen Brennan for quite some time. She stopped abruptly.

"Where's Brennan?"

Jesse looked around. "I thought he came back here." His stomach turned over. "He's not here?"

She mutely shook her head, feeling the familiar sense of dread swirling in her gut.

"I'm sure he's fine," Jesse saw the rising panic, quickly gesturing to Emma a few feet away from them. "Emma would be able to tell---Hey!" He broke off as she darted away. "Shalimar, wait!"

But she was already gone.

The mass of people outside the ruined building was thinning, sirens still wailing as emergency crew battled around them. The air was thick and wet and smelled saltier than before. She licked her lips nervously. Something was wrong. The water had finally settled, and in the moonlight, was black as death.

"Brennan!"

He was not there.

Her breath kept coming in short pants, and she was vaguely aware of her own mind screaming at her to think. To calm down. But she could not. Her mind felt as if she was trying to run through thick syrup and all she could hear was the single phrase ringing over and over again. _It was too late._ Panic tried to strangle her, and her chest seized as if being crushed by a giant hand. She had to slow down. She to calm herself down before she failed Brennan. A wail of despair tried to break free and out of reflex, she tried to hold it back. The world seemed to hold its breath, waiting for her to give in, give up, give him over.

Fury and terror ignited.

Be damned if she would.

She slammed past an approaching figure, her father she would later realize, at the moment seeing nothing more than an obstacle as she threw herself past the yellow caution tape and headed for the ruined remains. She had to find him. She had to find him before it was too late.

The first thing Shalimar saw in the scorched lobby was the blood. It splashed like paint splatters on the beach and spilled over into the water. A red hand print smeared the blackened wall. She groaned, nostrils flaring. The blood wasn't his, but his smell was there. She bent over, resting her hands on her thighs, breathing deeply. _It's not his blood._ The thought didn't make her feel any better. She pressed her lips together, doing an abrupt about face. It was darker near the water, the cooler temperature of the water colliding with the slightly warmer air and misty fog hung heavy just beyond the far side of the building. Mist. Her eyes locked onto it. Thick and murky over the sleeping ocean like a blanket sliding up to suffocate everything, even the billowing smoke of the fire. Fear coursed through her, heart slamming erratically in her chest. _It's not the same._ Despite the knowledge, she couldn't forget the dread, the memory. It was coming in fast. And Brennan was gone.

"BRENNAN!"

She leapt from the remains of the lobby, sprinting away just as the fog overtook her. One moment emergency lights pierced the smoky night, and the next moment everything was dark. The damp air choked her. There was no sound, save her own ragged breath.

"BREENNNAANN!"

"Shalimar?" His voice was distant and strained, and it came from her left.

She reached her hands out into the blackness and called his name as if it were a lifeline. Her knuckles hit the rough bark of a scorched tree, cracking and jamming in on themselves, causing her to cry out.

"Shalimar?" The pitch in his voice rose with concern.

"Brennan, over here!" She tried again to feel for him, walking blindly with her hands outstretched, her normal nocturnal senses scrambled by the smoke and the fog. His scent was strong, masked with the sharper tang of blood, and she gritted her teeth in frustration. "Where are you!" A hand came out of nowhere and grasped her wrist before it slipped down to her palm and squeezed. It was sticky. "Brennan?"

"It's me, Shal." He tugged her hand and pulled her beside him. His teeth were chattering. "I wa--was trying to help a few people find a missing co-worker."

His arm was just as sticky as his hand. "Brennan, what is this?" She played a little with the tackiness at his wrist.

"Uh," She could almost hear his face twist as he tried to dodge her question. "I—it's nothing. Where are the others?"

"Brennan, it's all over you." She placed a hand on his back to help guide him forward. He could see even less than she could.

He swayed a little off balance. "I'm fine."

She clutched him tighter as he stumbled, alarm bells going off in her head. Everything in her told him he was far from fine. The stickiness went all the way up his arm. "Brennan? Is this blood?"

He sighed, tripping over a cement curb. She reached out to catch him, fear rising anew when she felt the weakness in his body, the trembles running deep. He was going into shock. A flash of burning cold ripped through Shalimar's body, searing through her very bones, melting just as suddenly as she rammed into something solid in the darkness. She gasped, stumbling back, left with tingles and painful pinpricks. Her knees threatened to buckle for half a second, but she righted herself and plotted on, desperate to get them back to the others.

When they finally reached the taped-off zone, flashing red lights again pierced the fog. A few more steps and blinding overhead lights broke through, shining brightly. Brennan threw up his hand in reactionary instinct, quickly realizing it was real light and not the one of his dreams. Wetness soaked his shirt, the moist air and thick smoke catching in his lungs, making it difficult to breathe. When they stopped at last, he was panting, on the verge of hyperventilation.

Shalimar wasn't doing much better.

Blood.

Blood was everywhere.

"Brennan!"

She heard Emma's gasp of shock.

His arms, his chest, his neck and chin; his hands and middle and everywhere she'd touched him. Even his pale face was smeared with the countless attempts at wiping it away. A sheen of sweat was forming on his forehead. Not even Adam's gunshot wounds had bled with the volume of blood he was covered in. She didn't know what to do, the edge of the abyss slamming cruelly open and laughing in her ear.

She panicked.

The low growl that escaped her lips caught Brennan's dazed attention above the wail of the sirens. Even from where he stood next to her, the garish lights picked out the terror-driven desperation on her face. "Shal?" He blinked, staring at her.

She said nothing.

The sound of approaching footsteps caught his attention, and he drew a long, shaky breath as Nicholas Fox came to a stop a few feet behind them. Emma clutched Jesse's hand, standing tiredly next to him, face wreathed in pain. He had the fleeting thought of how hard it must be for her to be around all these people when he looked back at Shalimar and forgot everything else. She still had not moved, content to do nothing more than study him with wide, fathomless eyes. Brennan frowned as he turned to grab her shoulders, shaking her slightly, more easily recognizing the glassy expression this time and the way she seemed unable to do anything more than visually examine every inch of his body as if she were committing it to memory. "Shal, it's ok, it's not my blood. I'm here." He spoke slowly, carefully. "I'm here, I'm right here." His voice cracked, not quite able to hide the emotion. He caught Emma's eye as she stepped up, placing a gentle hand on Shalimar's shoulder, a shimmering wave stretching between them for a brief moment. When Shalimar finally blinked, his shoulders relaxed in relief, Emma supporting the feral as she slumped back.

Over her shoulder, her father stood motionless, his face a chaotic mixture of anger, terror, and annoyance as he stared first at his daughter and then at Brennan and Emma. "What the hell's wrong with her?"

"Nothing." Shalimar cleared her throat, answering for herself, a hint of red high on her cheeks, head down in acute embarrassment as she pulled away from Emma.

"Hey," Brennan caught her chin, wincing when his touch left a smear of blood on her pale skin.

She stared at him, at the blood on his hands as he dropped them to his sides, slowly reaching out and running a finger up his arm and to his shoulder. He stood still, letting her examine him, understanding her need to touch him, to feel him. His t-shirt seemed to frustrate her as she tried to examine his collarbone, and he didn't resist when she tugged the bloodied garment over his head and dropped it at her feet. Her father stood in shocked silence not twenty feet away. But all he saw was the catalogue of horrors swimming in her eyes.

She had seen him die.

Horribly.

Her hands swept across the clean, unbroken skin of his stomach.

"Shal?" He finally whispered her name.

"I'm sorry." She trembled. "I just—the fire and the blood—" She suddenly met his eyes, one hand reaching out blindly, and he caught it, placing her palm gently against his face. Her answering whisper was broken. "I—I was too late—again."

"I know." His own voice was hoarse and low.

She found the tears then, eyes filling, refusing to fall. They came, not from fear, but because he had not tried to tell her that it was just a dream. That it had not been real. That it was just imagination.

He understood too well.

The abyss was a construct of imagination, born from terrible reality, becoming its own reality in imagination. And in it, she had seen him die.

Just as he had seen her die over and over again as well.

She brushed her fingers over his lips as his fingers dug into his shoulders.

"Shal—" He reached for her when her hand pulled back abruptly.

"I'm fine." She bit her lip, voice gruff with shame. "Just dancing on the edge again, Brennan."

His thumb traced the sensitive underside of her wrist. "Don't fall."

She smiled slightly, turning her wrist so their hands were palm to palm, silently studying the difference in shape and size for a long moment, marveling at the different shades of strength in each. She interlaced their fingers, feeling every muscle in his hand flex as his fingers tightened around hers. Then she met the shocked gaze of her father standing alone a few yards behind them.

"Never."

They turned their back on it all.

Leaving the fire and destruction, the pain and the fear, they walked hand in hand toward the helix without another word.

For all the emotional havoc of the day, that was the hardest thing of all for Nicholas Fox. They had almost disappeared into the smoky darkness before the man finally found his voice. "What the hell was that?"

Jesse ignored him as Emma's hands started to shake, overwhelmed by emotion. Not completely sure how she would react, he reached a hand slowly out toward her. Her eyes dropped to it, a measure of reality and relief. Her body shuddered as she drew in a long sharp breath, grabbing his hand in a painful grip.

"She lost it." Nicholas still stared after them. "And he just stood there and let her. I don't understand—"

Emma's grip gentled at Jesse's involuntary grunt, hooking her other arm around Jesse's waist, pausing, face lifting to the older man as she gave him the answer.

"Because it's her."

And that just about summed it up.

In all the world, there was only one her.

And there was only them.

Watching each other.

"And because if you make a mistake, someone dies." Emma held Nicholas' eyes, the brutal truth held open on her face. She almost saw understanding in the answering twitch of his eyes. Almost. But not quite. "That mistake will not be each other."

For a split second, Nicholas did not react. Then startled eyes looked into blue. Searching. And the psionic finally saw him comprehend that the irrational fear he had witnessed was not about just about love or family. It was about choices.

You can only take one bullet.

Shalimar had chosen hers.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer—See Chapter One

A/N: I'm so sorry yet again for the long wait! I've been writing frantically the past few weekends as I won't have any more free weekends until the end of January after this coming one. But I'm finally almost done with this story, so hope to post the final chapters soon! There will be fifteen chapters total, so two more to go! I also wanted to let everyone know that this will most likely be my final story, at least for a while. I'm still having health problems and will be having surgery in February, so will unfortunately be busy for a while. But it's nothing too serious, so that is good news at least. Thank you all so much for your continued support! I can't tell you enough how much your encouragement and feedback means. My goal has been more character-based this time, so I'm thrilled to know you are still reading and enjoying it! Thank you Rain, Tunder28, Fiery Feral, Mayra, ShalBrenLove, CatJerica,Kitty Invictus. Your words touched me. Redhead2, so glad you were able to get caught up again! And you summarized exactly what I hoped to accomplish in this story; thank you! Anamalia-fear, thank you so much! Susie, you understand the love I hoped to convey for these characters, and I thank you so much for sharing that with me! There is some more character exploration in this chapter, as well as some action. A few more secrets revealed and more questions raised. I hope you enjoy! Thank you!

Traveling On—Chapter Thirteen

It was a quiet group that went back to Sanctuary, the helix flying low in the dark. A watery new moon, high in the sky, ducked in and out of fast-moving clouds. Shalimar eyed the sky. Another rainstorm was threatening.

The breeze had risen slightly; she swore she could still feel the current even within the cabin. The storm was nearly upon them. A sudden gust blew a handful of leaves across the dark curving road beneath them. She stared through the window, feeling her father's eyes boring into the back of her skull. Beside her, Brennan shifted, and the air inside the helix changed, a faint hint of electricity stirred and made the pores all over her body prickle.

"Storm's coming," She heard him murmur, his eyes bouncing between herself and her father. She nodded, distracted, just as the sprinkling rain changed to a sudden downpour and lightening flashed through the sky and struck nearby with an almost instantaneous crash. Ahead of them, in the pilot seat, Jesse pulled back on the controls, and the cabin tilted, the helix rising above the storm-laden clouds. She turned, pressing her nose into Brennan's shoulder, opening her mouth against his bare skin and breathing him in. The blood and sweat mingling with the fresh scent of the rain. She could hear his heart beating rapidly under her ear, drumming in unison with the drops on the roof as Jesse brought them through the clouds. For a second, the windows were covered in mist, and then the plane broke free, soaring beneath the clear moon. She turned back, staring out the window.

Sanctuary was bright and warm when they returned; familiar. Adam was still asleep, mumbling slightly. Shalimar paused to press a light kiss to his brow before brushing past her father as he stood silently in the doorway. He called after her, but she kept going. Her eyes met Jesse's, and he nodded, understanding, and she heard the molecular speak softly to her father as she walked away. There was a lot she needed to say to him, a lot the team needed to do yet that night, but she needed a moment.

She crawled into her high bed, curling her body tight, face pressed against soft, musky fur.

She was beginning to fear that there was no safe place anymore.

Her door squeaked open, but she didn't have to look to know it was Brennan.

He stood there, bone-weary, his muscular frame propped heavily against the door jamb. He didn't actually look at her, but she could see apprehension in the set of his shoulders, exhaustion in the lines of his face. She swallowed hard, not trusting herself to speak.

She didn't know what to say anyway.

With an effort he pushed himself from the door jamb and shut the door. Wrapping her arms around her ribs, she turned, looked at him, nostrils flaring at the sharp tang of blood in her home.

"It's not my blood," He reminded her, walking into the middle of the room.

"Whose blood is it?"

"I didn't get his name."

She winced, nodding, dragging herself out of bed as he walked past her and into her bathroom. She watched him as he leaned over the sink, washing his hands and arms. His white, naked chest and shoulders made him look strangely vulnerable. His heavy sigh broke her heart, and she stepped up behind him, resting her cheek against his back, arms circling around him. The muscles of his abdomen rolled beneath her hands as he straightened, turning to pull her tightly into his arms. His skin felt chilly, clammy, and she pressed hard against his ribs until she could feel his heart pulsing steadily against her fingertips. Not in shock, she realized with relief.

"Brennan—"

"I need to shower, Shal." He held her for a moment more before releasing her, stepping back. "We need to get back out there and find Danny…and Alex." His jaw flexed.

"But—"

He started to unbuckle his belt.

"We can talk more when I get out."

He was shivering slightly.

"Ok." She took his elbow and turned him toward the shower, reaching over and turning on the water. It would warm him up. "There's not much on your jeans." She noticed he was staring at a dried splotch on his knee. He had been through his own version of hell tonight. She pressed her lips together as he sluggishly toed off one boot, then the other. Steam from the shower was beginning to fill the room. She turned, wiping a hand across the rapidly fogging mirror, staring at her own tired reflection. A fine coat of grime from the smoke cast a gray pallor over her skin and hair, making her look old. She made a face, turning back around.

Brennan was just stepping out of his jeans.

Gray boxers.

She smiled faintly. Somewhere along the line, he had gotten to the point where he was comfortable stripping in front of her. She blushed at the memory of their last time together, only their second time. With everything going on, the newness of it all it had somehow gotten lost to them. He met her gaze and smiled tiredly, tenderly before climbing into the shower. The look in his eyes curling her toes. Finally. Warm delicious love. For so long she had hoped for normal, had comforted herself with the thought of it whenever she had drifted too close to the edge. It was only recently that she had discovered they existed in a universe where there were no defined levels, that they had already abandoned those traditional roles to create ones drawn loosely along lines from ages past. Roles and relationships forged in blood and dependence, in comradeship and battle. And so they watched each other. Some part of their brains constantly on the alert for sight, smell, touch. Constantly taking subconscious sideways glances to evaluate body language and position. No wonder she sometimes felt like half of her was missing. Sometimes, half of her was. Their path may have been unconventional, but then again, so were they.

They hadn't missed a thing.

She bent, gathering up his clothes, leaving the room for a brief moment to drop them in the washer, stopping at his room to get him clean things, and then returning to her own room. The shower was still running. She dug through her own drawers, pulling out fresh jeans, a black sweater for warmth against the chilly night air, best for stealth.

Black. Stealth.

She laughed soundlessly at how normal it all was to them.

She set the clothes down on her bed, stepping back into the bathroom. The mirror was completely fogged by now, and she had a flash of fear, staring at it in trepidation.

The sound of the water turning off startled her, and she shook her head, wiping a hand across the mirror.

"Shalimar?"

Brennan stepped out of the shower, one of her towels slung low around his hips, using another to rub his hair dry. She stared at him through the mirror. His chest was wet, droplets clinging to skin flushed red from hot water.

He didn't look vulnerable now.

She didn't turn at his inquiry, just watched him in the mirror as he came toward her.

He stopped just behind her and stared back at her reflection. His eyes slid slowly over her from head to toe. Every inch of her skin that his gaze caressed—her face, her neck, her arms—began to burn.

Their eyes met in the mirror.

She realized she was holding her breath. She let it out.

"You ok?" His head bent, kissing the top of her head. A drop of water landed on her shoulder, and she shivered.

"Yeah." Her eyes darted back to the mirror of their own regard. Nothing. She hated herself for even looking.

Brennan didn't notice, hands rubbing up and down her arms as he stared down at the top of her head. "I saw Alex tonight." He spoke suddenly, quietly.

Startled, she glanced sharply up at him, but his arms had gone around her, fitting her back against his hips. One arm crossed possessively over her chest, his warm palm cupping her shoulder.

"In my dream," He corrected, murmuring against her ear, "I saw Alex at the explosion. He spoke to me."

"What did he say?" She still watched him in the mirror.

"I am him. But I don't understand what that means."

Brennan shook his head, still talking, but a loud buzzing in her ears prevented her from hearing. _I am him._ It was the same thing she had seen written in large, shaky handwriting. It didn't mean anything. She whimpered, eyes boring fearfully into the mirror. Suddenly she realized she was shaking all over. Damned adrenaline. She pulled away, folding her arms over her chest to try to stop it, hoping Brennan wouldn't notice. He had stopped talking. She turned back to him. His eyes quickly darted down her body then back to her face.

"Shal?"

"I'm sure it's nothing." She tilted her head to meet his eyes, three inches from her own. This close, she could see into the depths. She smiled enigmatically to cover the unexpected emotion and gave him a brief soft kiss on the mouth.

He frowned slightly, recognizing she was holding something back, knowing better than to push. He sighed, stepping back. "We better hurry, the others will be waiting."

She nodded, hands moving woodenly, slowly unbuttoning her shirt as he left the small bathroom.

"I think he was trying to tell me something, Shal." Brennan's voice came back to her as she slipped the shirt from her shoulders. It fell to the cold tile with a soft plop. She nodded again, forgetting he couldn't see her. The mirror stayed blank, her mind strangely empty, but still he haunted her, locked in an illusive memory.

_All along, all this time, you thought they wanted you…The prey, Shalimar, you forgot the prey._

The psionic had taunted her about hurting Jesse, as if he knew how it would affect her.

_I know everything about you, Shalimar. The institution. Your time on the streets. I know how wild you can be._

He had known about her childhood, something no one else had known about except the one person who had spent time on those streets with her.

_I am him. _

The words scrawled across her mirror.

She didn't understand. Why—and how?

She was afraid to know the answer.

She trembled at the pain of such implications, forcing a smile as Brennan poked his head into the bathroom, lifting her face to his as he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.

"I'll be right back; I'm going to check on the others. The more I think about it, the more I have a good feeling about tonight, Shal. The explosion happened, but Adam and Emma are still alive. Your father is innocent. Now we've just got to find Danny and prove that Alex has nothing to do with any of this."

"Brennan—"

His expression was so determined, so hopeful. "I think we're finally going to find the answers we're been looking for."

"Brennan." Her voice was so soft, so full of tears, she could barely say his name as the door swung shut behind him. It was all she could say. "Brennan."

When Shalimar had first shown up at his company that afternoon, Nicholas had used all his contacts to check into Mutant X and this Brennan Mulwray she so obviously adored. It had, he acknowledged now, been a superficial check at best. The secrets of Mutant X had been well hidden, and the only information on the man his daughter claimed to love showed a damned criminal. Brennan Mulwray was a car thief and petty con, a rather varied and colorful record before suddenly dropping off the radar a few years ago. And he was a mutant.

That was all Nicholas had needed to know.

It hadn't taken a genius to figure out what happened to him next. Adam Kane. Nicholas pressed his lips together, eyes roving the massive cavern he know found himself in. Sanctuary, they called it. They had made it fairly clear that maybe there were things hiding in the shadows that he had simply been too blind to see. Maybe. Maybe not. But he was open to the possibility that Brennan was not as cracked as he had originally thought. He had watched the man fight alongside his daughter when they thought they were in danger in the lobby. He had then watched the man laboring to rescue those same people he had beaten just hours before. He had saved many in the aftermath of the explosion, and then he had brought his daughter back from the brink of insanity. Criminal or not, he grudgingly gave the man his respect. Footsteps echoed in the hall, and he glanced up to see them approaching now, watching warily as they settled into the overstuffed chairs around him.

"How are you doing?" Shalimar sat on the edge of the couch closest to her father's chair. She still wasn't comfortable around him, but she was relieved he hadn't been too severely injured in the fire. Paramedics had bandaged him up on site and from the looks of it, Jesse had worked on him some more in the lab while she had showered.

"As well as can be expected." Her father looked exhausted, mentally and physically.

"Good." She nodded back to him, glancing around the room at Brennan as he sat supportively next to her and at Jesse and Emma as they entered the room, having quickly cleaned up as well. "We should get going then." She started to stand.

"I have some questions first." Nicholas crossed his arms, looking at Brennan.

Shalimar sighed, glancing again at the others as she sank back into her chair.

"What about?" Brennan answered for all of them.

"About Adam Kane, about this place and what you're all doing." He paused, dropping his gaze to his normally well-manicured hands. His thumbnail had broken off in a jagged line. "And about what the hell my company has to do with all this." He looked back up, cutting Shalimar off as she started to speak, making eye contact with Brennan. "You asked me questions earlier about Mason Eckhart, about my company. Now it's my turn to ask some questions."

"Fair enough." Brennan answered after a moment. "But we don't have much time."

"Alright." Nicholas leaned back in his chair. "You claim that Adam is working for good, that you're working with him to stop Mason Eckhart and these—these experiments he's creating, and that you think he needs materials from my company to do so." He paused for a moment.

Shalimar gritted her teeth at the derision in his tone. _Experiments_. Mutants he meant. She felt Brennan's hand on her knee, taking a deep breath.

Her father kept his eyes on Brennan, not even noticing her agitation. "So why destroy Naxcon? Why take away what he supposedly so desperately needed?"

"We don't know." Brennan met his gaze candidly. "We're still trying to figure it all out."

"You have no idea who the guy was that started the fire?" Shalimar watched him with furrowed brow.

"I've never seen him before." Nicholas barely spared her a glance, his face a study of stubborn anger as he looked back at Brennan. "But he was definitely one of _them_; he shot fire from his hands."

"Can you describe him?" Jesse crossed over to a computer. "We might have him in our database."

"I can try."

Shalimar heard their voices, but was no longer listening. Instead, she found herself dealing with a brutally efficient if painfully unexpected blow to her heart. She had thought she was prepared for anything from her father. If it had not hurt so much, she might have laughed when she realized just how wrong that assumption had been. Brennan was too used to being the lead in anything they did, even talking. Her father's begrudging deferral to him would not seem out of the ordinary. So she was not completely sure he noticed that Nicholas answered her questions with only a brief glance in her direction before quickly sliding his eyes back to Brennan. She told herself that she was just being over sensitive, that she was just reacting to old issues…until she asked a seemingly unrelated question and her father glanced at Brennan for confirmation of interest before answering. For a brief, endless second, Shalimar found that she felt nothing at all. No pain. No anger. No betrayal. Then something she did not even know she had kept alive, gave one tiny wail of anguish…and died.

It was, she thought numbly, extremely ironic. Through everything, she had somehow nursed the hope that she could show her father how to see the man that Brennan really was, not just the mutant that was living with his daughter as he had seen him as that afternoon. She had wanted him to see the man she admired, respected, and believed in with every fiber of her soul. And now, here he was, actually finding something worthy to respect Brennan for, not because he respected her judgment or her opinion, but because he needed him now that his company was destroyed. He needed Brennan to fight the monsters.

How…disappointing.

She should have known better than to have expectations. But there had been a tiny wish that something would happen. Something that would force her father to look at her and see that the past several years of her life had not been wasted. To realize that those years had value, that she had value. Her father had been proud of her while she was a little girl. She could still remember what that had felt like. But as she got older, he had simply not understood her. He had been embarrassed. And then he had abandoned her.

That had hurt.

For the first time in years, she allowed herself to pry the lid off the seething mass of shocked pain and confusion she had stuffed deep into the furthest corners of her heart.

Brennan had figured out that something was wrong. He was still talking, but some part of his brain was focusing on her. She tried to bring her attention back to where it belonged, on the mission. She refused to justify her father's opinion by allowing personal feelings to interfere with the case at hand.

She would deal with the pain later.

Much later.

The whisper at the base of his skull grew louder as Brennan watched Shalimar's father react first with astonishment, then with irritation as they explained to him about Mutant X, showed him the other mutants in the database. They were far from his familiar serene world of normal, that was for sure. The automatic way he dismissed Shalimar, the way he didn't seem to take her or anything from her world seriously was evident in the stiffness of his shoulders, the bluntness of his tone. He still didn't get it. Brennan's eyes closed briefly at the ocean of hurt he could hear in Shalimar's voice when she next spoke, answering a question from her father.

Jesse was still flipping through the list of fire elementals. Without Adam's expertise of the mutants on record, it was taking longer than normal.

"Is all of this necessary? We should call the police." Nicholas was starting to lose patience, the reality of his destroyed life's work starting to sink in.

"No," Shalimar raised her jaw and spoke the next words so calmly that no one else would have known the edges were bleeding. "We're the most qualified to handle this situation."

His face twisted with frustration, voice rising. "Half my employees are dead! I'm sure you mean well, but I'm calling the police."

Shalimar shook her head. "You have to trust me on this one."

Exhausted, impatient, Nicholas growled the first words that sprang to his tongue. "This isn't about you!" He knew that his own anger was being fed by the emotional nightmare of the past few hours, and he knew that he was stressed out. Instead of matching anger however, he was startled by an expression of weariness and exhaustion sweeping over his daughter's face. Brennan's left hand twitched and for a second, Shalimar met his eyes. For once, Nicholas felt left out of the conversation, not understanding as they communicated wordlessly. Neither moved until Shalimar turned her head back to him, honey brown eyes filled with inexplicable pain.

"That's where you're wrong. This has everything to do about me, about all of us. If you want us to have any chance of keeping everyone safe, I can't have you fighting me on everything just because you don't trust what I say."

Instinctively, he tried to reach out, to hold her back as she turned away and headed down the hallway. This was not how he had meant for things to go. Even with everything else, he had wanted… This was not a reaction he recognized or knew how to deal with. "Shalimar—"

"Not now."

The finality in her tone reawakened his earlier frustration.

"We better go, Jess." Emma spoke up after an awkward moment. "We can look through the database later."

"Alright," Jesse nodded, standing to his feet. "I just need to check on Adam again before we leave." He hesitated, eyes bouncing between Brennan and Nicholas.

"Wherever you're going, it involves my company, my daughter." Nicholas stubbornly crossed his arms. "I'm coming with."

"Hell of a time for family values." Jesse practically growled under his breath.

"It's ok," Emma whispered reassuringly to him, pulling him along with her.

Brennan promised himself grimly that Nicholas would not surprise him again. His attitude had been an unexpected shock. He had expected a certain amount of disdain for their work, but surely her own father knew her better than to think that Shalimar could ever be an ineffectual anything. He had acted like he didn't have a clue what she did for a living. He had only seen her moment of fear that evening, and had dismissed everything else. As Nicholas settled himself cautiously into the chair across from him, Brennan was surprised at the depth of pain and sadness filling his eyes. Resolute, Nicholas met his eyes squarely. "Whatever she needs…I'll pay for it."

Brennan couldn't keep the contempt from his voice. "She doesn't need anything from you."

The reply was biting. "She lost it when she couldn't find you. I shudder to think what she would have done if someone tried to stop her or if you—" He broke off, uncomfortable. "She's always been wild. She's a danger to herself and to others." His voice faltered. "It's not her fault, but she needs help."

Brennan tried to understand, he tried…and he failed. It did not take a genius to realize that Shalimar had scared her father tonight. But Nicholas did not even want to look beyond the symptoms to the cause. Did he honestly think they could fling themselves into the abyss and escape without injury? That they could see the things they saw over and over again and have normal lives in the process? He wanted his nice safe house, and his nice safe family, but God forbid he should ever have to recognize the cost of that safety. Brennan's voice was a low snarl, and he saw Nicholas recoil in shock as he let the man see the sliver of darkness he usually tried to hide from prying eyes.

"You want to catch monsters…this is the price."

Nicholas swallowed, but refused to back down. "Tell me that what happened to her was a one time thing. Tell me she wouldn't have actually snapped if something had happened! Tell me that she wouldn't have harmed anyone who got in her way!" Hurt and fear and anger almost made his voice unrecognizable.

"I can't."

Nicholas shrunk down into his seat, and Brenan realized that he had wanted him to protest. Convince him that he was wrong. He could not do that, but maybe the truth would do almost as well. "I'm sure you understand about dreams, nightmares. Dreams can have their own reality, but normally they're so far removed from tangible reality, it's easy to see the edges." Brennan grabbed at the air in a gesture of frustration when the man's brows rose into his hairline. "But when you do what we do, our dreams echo the intangible world of horrific reality. There are no edges anymore because the dreams are plausible, detailed, and do nothing to contradict reality. So sometimes, like tonight, we see the horrors of our dreams and it feels like that memory actually happened, complete with emotional context and all."

Nicholas was trying; every cell in his body was focused on what Brennan was saying. But he could not make the connection. It was too far removed from his own reality.

Brennan tried again. "In that moment, she thought her dream was real. She thought she was too late to save me, and that I had died."

Nicholas was silent as he absorbed Brennan's words. "You don't think that's crazy?"

The elemental gave a short laugh. "Welcome to our world."

Nicholas swallowed sharply, horrified at the casual callousness of it perhaps. Or the reality of their lives. But maybe he was figuring out that his daughter inhabited a world where his definition of normal had long ago ceased to exist.

Either way, his world would never be the same again.

None of their worlds would.

Brennan clamped his shoulder briefly as he stood up and left the room.

"Hey Shalimar, wait up!" Jesse trotted up to the feral as she paced back and forth in front of the helix. He stopped in front of her, reaching out a hand to catch her as she brushed past him, searching for words. "So…your father seems nice."

There was an almost soundless chuckle. "Nice try, Jesse." The laughter died as she sucked in a quick hard breath, and he knew that she was fighting back tears.

"Hey, I'm sorry." He pulled her into a warm hug, tucking her head under his chin.

"You want to know the crazy part?" She sniffed against his shirt. "Our enemies have never, NEVER tried to invalidate my worth as casually as he just did."

"You're not alone, Shalimar." He understood the real pain behind her words, wanting so badly to take it away. Her arms tightened around him, and they held each other in silence. "And regardless of what others may think," He continued after a long moment, lips curving teasingly against her hair, "We're _fairly_ certain you're not crazy."

She snorted against his shirt, laughing despite herself, pulling back to smack him on the chest.

"Ow!" Jesse's protest was lost in his gentle smile. Her head turned at the sound of approaching footsteps, stepping onto the ramp of the helix. "Hey," Jesse caught her hand, brow furrowed. "It'll be ok."

"Yeah." She smiled back at him, disappearing into the plane.

It was the last thing Adam expected to see when he finally opened his eyes.

"Why?" The voice was filled with agony.

Adam blinked in confusion at the angry gray head standing in his direct line of vision. "Nicholas?" The last thing he remembered was talking to Jesse, filling him in on the explosion when they got back. He must have drifted off to sleep again. How long ago had that been?

"Why?" The other man demanded. "Why do you encourage them to do this? Haven't you done enough to them already?"

Adam's face shifted in tired surprise, the old ghosts immediately painful. "Unfortunately, it's not that simple."

Nicholas moved into the room and stared down at him with something like astonishment. "How can you still not understand after all these years? You've ruined my daughter's life!"

"Nicholas, I'm sorry, but I don't think you understand everything as well as you think you do."

The older man's mouth tightened stubbornly in mulish self-defense. It would help a hell of a lot more if people would just tell him what they thought he did not understand instead of bashing him over the head with his incomprehension. First Shalimar. Now Adam. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully as the scientist gestured weakly with one hand, as if trying to find the right combination of words, angrily interrupting Adam before he could speak. "I understand that all those years ago, you messed with something you had no business changing, and that you ruined a lot of lives, including my family's! I understand that your guilt or—or greed or whatever the hell you want to call it drives you now to continue to use those kids—my daughter—so that you can keep on playing god. Your need to satisfy your sick curiosity put them in danger back then and it's putting them in danger now! They're getting ready to go back out there, to risk their lives—for you!"

Adam just looked at the beaten man blankly. His sigh was sad. "That's what they do. They're a team, and that's where they stand, Nicholas. On a line. Protecting us from monsters we can't see."

Nicholas was not even aware that he had begun to shake his head in reflexive rejection. This was crazy. This was his daughter they were talking about.

Adam shifted slightly on the bed, trying to ease the pain burning up his left side. "It's not always someone else's family, Nicholas. Maybe it's time you stop seeing her as a little girl. She is a hero, and has saved countless lives. For my past mistakes perhaps, but never just for my curiosity. They're working to protect people. And if you can't respect that…you will lose her." Adam paused, craning his neck to look at the man who was Shalimar's father. It was then that he saw the tears. The man just stood mute, head down. Adam sighed, wishing their reality wasn't so painful. He had only confusion to offer. No answers.

He had never had them.

Only the illusion of them.

For the third time that night, the helix soared through dark clouds. The wind had shifted, the trees dotting Stormking Mountain bending to its sheer force. The water rolled and hissed, a black mass from the air. Confused, resentful, and hurt, Nicholas sunk into a sullen silence that left him mostly ignored by the others in the plane. Jesse had taken the controls again, so Brennan could sit in the back with Shalimar and her father. They didn't say it aloud, but Nicholas suspected it was to keep the tenuous peace. His daughter didn't say anything to him, but her silence screamed angrily at him, so loud that he winced in recognition. He had screwed up again. He sighed bitterly, not quite understanding how. He just wanted the best for his daughter. Why was that so damn hard? He glanced over, surprised to find that Brennan sat with his head tipped back, throat vulnerable, eyes closed. The uncharacteristic defenselessness caught him off guard until the glint of reflected light warned him that Brennan was watching him through lowered lashes. _He's letting me see him like this_, he thought abruptly. _Why? _Without a word, Nicholas shifted in his seat, moving carefully, never taking his eyes off the motionless man. That his pose was deliberate, he did not doubt. He cleared his throat, waiting until Brennan looked at him more fully. "Why do you do this?" The words were wondering, spoken before he could censure them.

Brennan just tilted his head in mute inquiry.

Nicholas lowered his voice even more, forgetting about Shalimar's feral hearing as he stared at Brennan. He remembered Emma's words at the fire as they had walked away together. "You don't...you don't expect her to save you?"

Shalimar showed no reaction to the question, heard turned as she stared out the window at the full moon, heavy in the sky. Below them, lightening flickered in dark clouds.

"Every day, in every way." The words were quiet, accepting. Shalimar didn't move, but Brennan saw her smile reflected through the dark glass.

Nicholas' brow furrowed at the response. It held none of the self-pity, embarrassment, or desperate need he would have expected. Meeting the elemental's calm gaze, he realized that for Brennan, they were nothing more than a statement of fact. A grim acceptance of very real dangers. Nicholas felt a chill as he finally admitted, if only to himself, that maybe it was a two way commitment.

"Nicholas," Emma interrupted gently, speaking up from the front of the helix, "If you could take another look at the terminal next to you, I've narrowed down a list of possible fire mutants."

"I didn't get a very good look at him, but I'll try." The older man nodded, the cabin falling silent as he clicked through the list.

"We'll be there in just a few minutes," Jesse announced finally, reaching above his head to push a few buttons, preparing for landing.

"Anything yet?" Emma craned her neck from the co-pilot seat to peek at Nicholas.

"I don't know, it's hard to tell—" Nicholas' voice broke off for a moment, pulling his cell phone from his pocket as it vibrated. "Nicholas Fox," He answered the phone, pausing as he listened for a brief moment. "I'm on my way to the harbor," He spoke into the phone, meeting Shalimar's eyes as she finally looked at him. "It's Damien, my assistant," He mouthed, frowning when she turned her glance away again. He had to talk to her, to try to explain. He half listened to the voice on the other end of his phone, continuing to click through the short list of mutants. He paused at one picture, staring into the eyes, feeling a sudden chill. "I have to go now," He abruptly hung up on his protesting assistant. "I found him," He announced just as the helix descending back to earth, sinking into the clouds, the cabin falling dark for a moment as the windows fell black. "This is the one." He clicked on the picture, enlarging it as they broke through the clouds again. Rain splattered viciously against the windows as all eyes turned to see.

It was Alex.

Brennan jumped out of the helix as soon as it touched ground, not even waiting for Jesse to power down the engines. He stalked toward the harbor, not feeling the storm as it lashed against him, agony burning in his veins. _It's not him. _Nicholas was wrong. He refused to even consider the possibility, ignoring Shalimar as she called his name, easily finding the same boat he had stolen the last time. Surprisingly, it hadn't sustained any real damage, and after getting Adam and Emma back to Sanctuary, he had briefly returned to the harbor to clean the boat and put it back. In that moment, it had seemed important to keep his promise to Adam. He stared now at the place where Adam had lain, remembering the blood that had been slick on the white fiberglass. He groaned, pushing the thought aside. Little had he known then that he would be stealing it again just a little over twenty-four hours later. _Hell of a day_, he wearily exhaled, pushing his dripping hair off his forehead as he started the engine.

"Why do I get the feeling he's done that before?" Nicholas arched an eyebrow as Brennan steered the boat toward them. He sighed at Shalimar's stony silence, turning suddenly toward her, hissing under his breath. "Do you really want this for your life, Shalimar?" His anger boiled over. "Don't you see what these people have reduced you to?"

Her wild snort was the last thing he expected to hear. _He still doesn't see me_. She stared into the face of his disbelief and could only wait for it to tear her loose from her moorings and carry her screaming into the abyss waiting behind her. He stared back at her, mouth open, anger rapidly being swallowed by fear until she could see the pulse beating wildly in his neck. She broke contact first, eyes closing in tired frustration. "The normal rules are over. Our enemies are coming out of the shadows, and we don't know their faces anymore. You look at Brennan and see a thief. I look at him and see a fighter."

Nicholas gave a bitter laugh that should have sliced his tongue bloody. "So in your world the thief becomes the hero."

She turned away. "Yeah, Dad, that's exactly what I've been trying to tell you." Black and white. He didn't understand the shades of gray in the middle. What they did wasn't always right, she was the first to admit that, but sometimes they were forced to fight in the shadows. Did the end ever justify the means? Not really. Even the question was gray. She kneaded her temple, watching Brennan as he stepped from the boat, holding out a hand to help Emma climb aboard, the craft slippery in the rain. He glanced over his shoulder, finding her in the darkness. She stepped forward, pausing, not looking back at her father as she spoke. "We are all going to have to take a stand. Someday, somewhere. We've already chosen our side. And someday soon, they may even come for you. You have to understand that. I can't quit and you can't live in ignorance."

She thought she had finally reached him. He swallowed sharply. Once. Twice. Then he shattered her hope of understanding with his next words.

"You're as crazy as the rest of them." The whisper was weighted with horror and disbelief.

She stared at him soberly.

He had the grace to flinch at her painful expression. His face twisted with his fear. His own desperation. "You can't keep doing this Shalimar. Leave. Come with me. Leave before they destroy you."

She turned fully around to look into earnest brown eyes, wondering how he could look at her, at everything that had been done to her…and not see the truth written across her face. Suddenly more exhausted than angry, she bit back a hundred things she could scream at him. A hundred monsters, a hundred tiny betrayals. Because he would not see them. Would never see them. Not until he had no choice. Until maybe it was too late.

Funny how the whole day seemed to be colored in shades of gray.

"I can't."

Denial. Of her word. Of what she had become. She watched as he tried to fit her answer into something familiar.

"Is it Adam? What hold does he have over you? Or is it because of Brennan? Is that it?"

Anyone else and she would have told them to go to hell. Because it was her father, she tried again. Maybe she didn't owe him anything, but it was all she had to offer. And maybe if he could be made to understand the truth, he might start looking for the answers. "You're asking the wrong questions."

Her father growled with frustration and his hand swept out in a gesture of rejection. "What am I supposed to be asking?"

Shalimar reached her hand up to press firmly on the bone at the bridge of her nose. Brennan called her name, and she held up a hand, indicating she needed a moment. A moment. A moment to explain something that had taken years to evolve and as long for her to accept. She could just tell her father something that he understood. Something that made sense in the context of his life, his world. But that devalued the reality of what she shared with her team.

And that was something she refused to do.

"I'm committed to Adam, to Brennan, to all of my team on so many levels I cannot even begin to explain them to you. I will stay with them because what we are doing is right." She heard her name called again, in, and almost smiled at the sharp concern, the hint of protectiveness. "And together, we are hell on wheels."

Nicholas just looked at her, lost even to the reasons she would try to laugh.

"We have to go," She walked to the boat without looking back.

They made it onto the island with surprising ease. Under the cover of darkness, they approached the backside of the hidden compound. Chilly rain seemed to keep the guards inside as one moment they were sneaking through muddy underbrush, and the next they were inside. It seemed too easy.

"Thanks, Jesse," Shalimar laid a hand on his chest as he phased her through, eyes glowing eerily as she stepped into the shrouded darkness of the building.

"Now what?" Nicholas' voice was too loud in the enclosed space.

Emma grimly exchanged glances with Shalimar, knowing the feral could sense the fear and anger in the building almost as well as she could. It was overwhelming, putrid, burning her nostrils with the smell, the feel. She fought the sudden urge to leave…to escape. The pain was almost unbearable, layers upon layers of ghostly emotion.

"Now we find Danny." Brennan stubbornly stepped forward. "Beat this psionic and prove Alex is not involved."

They spread out, slowly working their way through dark and dusty corridors. The building seemed empty, deserted. They found a stairwell, leading down into what appeared to be tunnels, like the overflow ones they had found earlier on the nearby islet. They kept going, the air growing staler, the floor dipping down until they were forced to bend their heads to avoid scraping against the rocky ceiling.

They were looking for answers.

But what they found was anything but.

In the lead, Brennan suddenly groaned as he came to an abrupt stop, leaning heavily forward against a rocky wall, palms flat against the wall, shoulders hunched.

Nicholas again found himself not understanding their reactions. It just looked like a dead end. He looked up and found Brennan's dark eyes fixed on Shalimar's. The hair on the back of his neck prickled, and he found himself absolutely certain that he never wanted to see that look in another man's eyes while looking at his daughter.

Shalimar made a strangled sound in the back of her throat, staring at the rough wall, at the words etched in a shaky scrawl, scratched into the face of the rock. It was familiar. Too familiar. Brennan pushed back from the wall abruptly, so hard, he rammed into the older man as he crowded against him, sending him staggering back against the opposite wall.

"So I have seen, so shall it be."

Tiny wisps of pale mist seeped from rough cracks, curling around the words.

"Oh no," Emma moaned softly, covering her mouth with a shaky hand.

Brennan staggered back, and everyone froze as the sounds of someone getting sick came clearly from the darkness. Then feet were pounding across rocky stones.

Nicholas looked at Shalimar who still had her gaze fixed on the wall. When she finally looked over, he was shocked to see silent tears running down her face. He would have grabbed her when she stepped back, except that Jesse suddenly had a hold of his wrist.

Ignoring the unspoken warning, Nicholas yanked his wrist free and followed his daughter as she ran down the hallway and around a roughly-hewn corner.

He turned the corner just in time to see Shalimar reach Brennan. He half expected the man to turn on her when she reached out and touched his shoulder. He did not expect Brennan to double over and fall to his knees, a half-strangled groan tearing itself from his throat. Nicholas had thought himself beyond shock after the events of the day, but found himself held spellbound as his daughter collapsed beside him and wrapped her arms around him. Brennan's arms pulled her tight to his body and both mutants buried their faces against the other. Brennan held her head tight to his chest even as he hid his tears against her hair.

For the first time, Nicholas felt his isolation, his failure to understand as he watched helplessly. No one else had followed them. He had no idea how long he stood there. All he knew was that one minute he was thinking that his feet were cold and the next he suddenly realized that Jesse had disappeared. It took him a moment to realize the molecular had phased behind the wall, coming back out a few minutes later, his white face as he stared at Emma telling him what they already knew.

They all knew.

Jesse roughly cleared his throat. "There's even more than last time."

Emma clutched his hands, face grimly pale.

And that was when Nicholas finally understood.

It had happened again.

Another cavern of hidden remains. Shalimar had told him about the events leading up to this compound, about their experience in another one of Mason Eckhart's underground compounds, but he hadn't really gotten it, not in the relatively safe reality he inhabited. And now there were more very real deaths just a few yards away. He gagged at the thought, seeing their grim acceptance. Despite all their efforts, more people had been butched. And there had not been a damn thing they could do about it.

Well, now he knew why Brennan had thrown up.

Jesse stepped up quietly beside him, eyes fixed on the two mutants still wrapped around each other. Both were connected to this case more deeply than they wanted to be, devastated by Alex's seeming involvement. He was Brennan's biological brother, Shalimar's adopted brother. She had known him longer than the rest of them. Heartsick, he swallowed, throat tight at the memory of all those bodies. Tortured souls. No wonder Shalimar's father couldn't understand. He could barely comprehend it all himself. He turned his head suddenly and Nicholas found himself looking into sympathetic eyes. "We weren't prepared to find more bodies. Guess this place is even more connected to that underground facility than we realized."

Nicholas looked back at his daughter who had her arms clenched around Brennan so tightly they would probably have to break her fingers to get her to let go.

"She told me. But I—I didn't know."

"Now you do." The molecular spoke softly. Then Nicholas caught the man looking at him, looking at his fallen teammates. "They'll be ok."

Nicholas didn't have enough energy left to protest. He was finally beginning to realize that he was talking to people with a warped definition of okay. They were using the same words, but they sure as hell were not speaking the same language.

"They go too deep, both of them. She needs someone who can call her back from the edge, and he needs someone who can call him back to the living. And they both need someone they can trust to break it down after it happens."

Nicholas just laughed bitterly. "And that makes it ok? You think this is healthy?"

Jesse was silent for a long moment. Then he answered quietly. "We do what we have to, to survive, to get the job done. No one ever said it was healthy."

Nicholas just shook his head. "When does it stop? When there's nothing left of her soul?"

When the younger man finally answered, his voice was clipped. "Do you honestly think that someone could ask your daughter for help and have her turn them down?"

Nicholas looked away. There was no answer to that question. Not the one he wanted to give anyway.

It was a silent, bedraggled group that finally began searching again, shuffling down the narrowing tunnels in a tired, staggered row. Shalimar brought up the back of the group, keeping her eye on Brennan as he lumbered wearily ahead of her. She was worried about him. Finding the bodies had effected on a level so deep within himself, she knew he was unfamiliar with it. It wasn't a place most people allowed themselves to go, but the last few weeks had pushed him especially hard. He had sensed the mist, those bodies, before even she had. He was exhausted, drained. Given the events of the past few days, they all were. Distracted, her eyes were on Brennan, and she didn't see the protruding lip of rock until she stubbed her toe against it. She grunted in pain, looking down at the offending stone, sucking in air when she saw it surrounded a metal, slated grate. She stared, in shock, bombarded with images, memories.

Ahead of her, Brennan glanced over his shoulder, noticing she had stopped walking. "Shal?" He scrubbed his face, looking down at the manhole she was staring at. "What is it?"

"I've seen this before." Shalimar's voice sounded dazed.

"Shalimar?" Brennan came back to her, touching her shoulder in concern.

"How did we know to come here?" She suddenly looked up at him. "That psionic, right? He claimed to know where Danny was and was holding him ransom for the list. We tracked him here, to this compound."

"Yeah," Brennan shook his head. "But what does any of this have to do with a grate?" Impatiently, he glanced over his shoulder. The others were almost gone from sight already.

"It's Danny." Shalimar stared at Brennan, suddenly realizing she had never told him the rest of her dreams. "Brennan," She grabbed his arm, mind whirling to put it all together. "My dreams of your childhood, they've been changing. When I saw that picture of Danny on the computer at Sanctuary, I recognized him. That's why I went to Dave's. I meant to tell you, but then so much happened at once…the marina, those tunnels…Adam getting shot…my father…" She shook her head. "I never told you."

He struggled to make sense of it all. "Told me what?"

"In my dreams, I saw Danny. He became one of your friends; it was his face I saw staring at me through a grate, _this_ grate." She kicked at the rusted metal for emphasis. "Think about it. He's a psionic, right? What if he's been trying to tell us something?"

"Where he's being held." Brennan stared at Shalimar in growing recognition. "Our dreams, we didn't know why they were happening."

"Danny." Shalimar shook her head, trying to absorb it all. "But why send dreams, I don't understand."

"I don't know, but what if—what if Danny got inside my head when I met him?"

"What do you mean?"

Brennan's face twisted with further guilt. "I was so distracted that day…Alex had just left, you were sick…all I could think about was getting back to you. I told him I'd follow up with him, but he must have known I wasn't really paying attention." He groaned, eyes dark, bleak. "He was so scared, Shal, and I let him down."

"Brennan—" She reached a hand for him, but he shrugged it off, whirling and banging his fist against the wall in anger.

"Damn it! This is my fault. I have to find him." He broke off as his voice cracked, bending abruptly to pull on the grate.

"Hey, we will." She reached for him again, catching his arm, but he pulled loose. She knew he was thinking about the bodies they had just found. She pressed her lips together. Danny would not be one of them, she wouldn't let that happen. "Think about it, Brennan. He must have known you were the one who could help. Somehow he showed you a future possibility and somehow he got your memories from your head, sending me dreams as well. I think he was trying to tell us to check on him. You said it yourself, you wouldn't have followed up otherwise." She paused, eyes going back to the grate. "These dreams, Danny's story, all were recent reminders of my own painful childhood, of yours too. I think he somehow knew that. He was trying to tell us that he was in trouble, trying to show us where he was being held."

The jump of the muscle in his jaw was the only indication he heard. He pulled harder on the grate, muscles bulging, but it didn't move.

"Brennan," Shalimar rested a hand on his shoulder, but he ignored her, stubbornly pulling harder. "Let me help you." She knelt down, dipping her head to see his face. He finally lifted his eyes, startling her with their agony. Silently, she put her hands on either side of his. Together they pulled, groaning with the effort, until finally the rusted metal gave way with a loud scraping sound.

"Brennan! Shalimar!" Jesse's voice suddenly called from around the corner, their anxious footsteps sounding a few seconds later.

"Danny's down here." Brennan barked out the sparse explanation, already halfway through the small opening by the time the rest of the group returned.

"How do you know that?" Nicholas' face showed his skepticism.

"Long story." He dropped from sight without another word, Shalimar following him.

Jesse and Emma followed next without question, trusting their teammates. Nicholas stared at the small, rusted opening with utter disbelief and frustration, finally climbing down in tired resignation.

They ended up in yet another tunnel, much like all the others, save for ductwork that ran across the ceiling, piping in fresh air.

"Someone care to explain what we're doing down here?" Nicholas' voice was again too loud.

No one answered him.

Shalimar let the others pass her by, going through the tunnel more slowly. If Danny was really powerful enough to send them dreams, then he would know they were nearby now. She didn't understand why he didn't try to contact them now. Or why, for that matter, the psionic was letting them get inside so easily. He had to know by now they were here as well. She swallowed, throat tight.

Ahead of her, Emma understood and turned, meeting her eyes, softly shaking her head; nothing yet. "There's a lot of pain here." Her voice was tight.

Jesse brushed his fingers across the small of her back, supporting her as they kept going.

No one even considered anything else.

Brennan moved more slowly as well, running his fingers along the dim walls. Something sharp stabbed his finger, and Shalimar smelled the tang of blood even as he swore under his breath. She watched him, concerned. She knew better than anyone what kind of guilt and fear he must be feeling. Her eyes closed at the painful reminder. No wonder her father didn't understand them. Most people didn't have to live with the fear that daily distractions could cost someone else their life. They had to find Danny. She didn't know what Brennan would do if they didn't.

In the back, Shalimar was so absorbed on Brennan that she failed to sense what she should have.

The capture was swift and unexpected.

One moment she was moving, the next, her feet were dangling off the ground as the arms and head of a sole figure leaned down from a hiding place in the upper ductwork and dragged her up. Furious, she opened her mouth to holler, a hand clamping down over her mouth, body bent backwards against a muscular frame in a helpless pose, eyes wide as the rest of her team unknowingly made a right turn down another narrow corridor and left her behind.

She growled, biting down on the thick fingers shoved into her mouth, grimly smiling when she heard the painful grunt. Her booted foot rose, stomping down on the attacker's insole, knee rising to slam into his groin. A sharp gasp of air, and nerveless fingers released their hold, grasping, grappling, pulling her down with him as they fell in a silent tumble to the rocky floor.

She scrambled to her feet, ready to charge, chest heaving in outrage when she found suddenly unable to move, trapped in place by a powerful. desperate energy. She winced when the hiss of fire flaring to life on fingertips sounded behind her.

"Shalimar."

She trembled.

She knew that voice.

She knew it when he had befriended her in a cold alley years ago.

And she knew it when he had said good-bye just a few short days ago.

Unbidden, tears trickled down cheeks as the echoing footsteps of her teammates could no longer be heard, and she was left alone with the man she called brother.

The enemy.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer—See Chapter One

A/N: It took me twenty hours, but I'm finished! Yippy! This chapter ended up being way too long, so I'm posting it in two parts. Here is part one, and I'll post part two as soon as I proof it. I'm also working on a small epilogue for the final chapter, so there will be 16 chapters total with the epilogue. I've had to simplify my plot lines in order to finish everything up, but hopefully I haven't lost too much in the process. Huge thanks to all of you for your amazing feedback and support. Thank you so much Tunder28, Anamalia-Fear, Mayra, Aussie-Fan, Susie, Rain, CatJerica, Redhead2, Fiery Feral. You have been so kind and wonderful and patient. Thank you! Skimmboardergurl, thank you so much for the message! Tantumfan, I'm so glad you're enjoying the story, thank you! These final chapters haven't been beta'd, I hope I haven't missed anything. I'm rushing more than I would have liked, but I hope you'll still like the outcome anyway. Part two will come very soon. Thank you!

Traveling On—Chapter Fourteen

She was gone.

Brennan suddenly felt the disconnection three steps after rounding the corner. Like a physical blow, the fear exploded in his gut, doubling him over with the knowledge. Emma realized it at almost the same time, whirling around in time to see Brennan's face contort with anguish as he called out for her though he already knew she wouldn't answer.

She was gone.

They both could feel it.

They ran back around the corner anyway, searching helplessly, frantically, knowing the futility of it as even her comlink remained silent.

For Nicholas, it was the final straw, the breaking point after a day from hell. His hands were on the lapels of Brennan's jacket and slamming him up against the wall before anyone could react. Startled cries were nothing more than background static as he glared into brown eyes that flared initially with shocked outrage, then shifted into a flat gaze that held nothing more than watchful understanding. Nicholas growled at the unsatisfactory reaction and knocked the younger man against the wall once more.

"Just tell me why." Frustration snapped and snarled and it was all he could do to spit the words into Brennan's face instead of smacking him into the wall again. His grip tightened as the elemental's eyes slid to something behind him, and then Brennan shook his head slightly. Nicholas did not even bother to look for whoever Brennan had warned off. He wanted answers, and he was going to get them. "This is all your fault! Just tell me. Tell me why she stays with you."

Empty eyes stared back at him with nothing. Like every other answer he had gotten from them. Nicholas snarled and leaned in with every ounce of intimidation he had ever learned during thirty years of boardroom deliberations. He let Brennan see the truth. That he was willing to take him apart right here. Right now. They wanted him to understand, to believe. They could start with this.

Primitive impulses he had never realized he possessed roared through his body. Never had he wanted to cause the damage to another person that he wanted to do right now. A part of his mind knew he was letting his rage create something he might not be able to control. He could feel it. And part of his mind was gibbering in horror. But it was drowning in the screams of terror that were Shalimar's face. The base of his spine was tingling and he was barely keeping his fingers from tightening around Brennan's throat.

And the younger man just stood there and let him.

Nicholas leaned in carefully, ignoring the instinct that was calling for caution as something flashed in Brennan's eyes. "She would have died to protect you, but you let her get snatched right behind your back."

Gone was the previous respect, begrudging though it had been. The demon howling through his blood gnashed its teeth when the elemental simply froze and stared at him with blank eyes. Disappointed with the lack of reaction, the creature prodded once more at what it had thought would be a telling wound. "You can't even keep one of your own safe, let alone some little boy. That's not love. So you tell me…you tell me what keeps her with you. What keeps dragging her under. And what it is that threatens my family!" The last words were hissed, hatred and red fury burning with every word.

It was only when the younger man reached up to tear his hands from his stranglehold that Nicholas realized Brennan's hands had fallen to his sides. Barely controlled lightening rumbled in his eyes as he finally opened his mouth to say something, and despite his anger and his need to know, something in Nicholas cringed in sudden fear. Brennan blinked, something rising briefly, then sliding silently beneath a dark brown surface that reflected nothing.

Then the elemental turned away.

Nicholas did not even recognize the howl that was torn from his throat as he reached for the object of all his most recent frustrations. His daughter was gone, and the man dared to turn his back on him. His mind raged at the perversion of what these people had done to his daughter, and he acted without thinking. One minute his hands were closing on Brennan's shoulder and the next, he was flying. He had the dim thought that the landing was going to hurt when he smacked into the floor. Gasping for air, he had a vague impression of motion and was trying to raise his hands to protect his face when his vision cleared enough for him to see Brennan staring down at him. Despite the fact that he knew the other man's eyes were shades of brown, in that moment, they looked black. Nicholas struggled to meet them, his rage wailing in despair when it recognized the fact that he could not force an answer. He closed his eyes and swallowed. Then he swallowed again. His voice, when he found it, was a whisper. "Please. For Shalimar. Just tell me." He stared up hopelessly. "I can't protect her if I don't understand."

Brennan flinched at the sound of that broken plea. But his voice held none of the sympathy his face momentarily displayed. "You already have the answers. You just refuse to believe them."

"Monsters." The word was bitter mockery.

Brennan bared his teeth in a tight smile. "See. Told you."

Another long look, then Brennan turned to go. Nicholas rolled painfully to his knees and called after him.

"She won't stay with you. You're just in her way! She'll wake up and realize it one day. This isn't her life!"

He didn't have time for this. Brennan ignored him and kept walking.

Jesse looked at the older man with something akin to pity. "You are in _their_ way, Nicholas." After a brief moment, Jesse and Emma turned their backs as well, following after him until the three team members were easily swallowed by the chaos. Nicholas just stared after them, unexpectedly fighting the shocking urge to sit down on the floor and cry. He did not understand this. He did not understand, and he did not belong. And more people were going to die. The noise level in his ears seemed to double, then double again. He could command a multi-billion dollar company, thousands of people and crushing demands, but he understood that world. He know those patterns down to his bones. But this one held something he could not read. In that fraction of a second, Nicholas Fox truly understood the meaning of alienation. He stood on the edge of his world and looked through soundproof glass at a twisted alternate reality where his baby girl stood next to the bad guys…and belonged. When had it all happened? A fresh wave of resentment tainted by guilt swept over the father as he fell to his knees in despair. He hadn't been around to see it.

Shalimar's heart pounded wildly in her throat as the man she had called her brother for all those years slowly released his hold on her. She didn't know where they were; he had dragged her into yet another maze of ductwork, and the others could no longer be heard. He took a slow step back, watching her warily, and her mind flashed on a vivid memory almost three months old. She had been tracking deer through the semi-dense forest of Stormking Mountain, thrilling in the practice of the hunt. She did not know how long she had been standing there, waiting for the deer to move, but suddenly she had known that she was under observation. Unerringly her head had turned, and she had found herself staring into suspicious yellow eyes.

The wolf had been cautious. Curious. Nervous about her potential danger to his family. It had been the oddest feeling staring into those eyes. The animal was completely prepared to attack, and yet, she had known it would not. Not if she did not challenge him. Not today. Her eyes had dropped submissively, and when she raised them again, the wolf was gone.

She felt that same feeling of being watched now creeping down her spine as Alex crept warily around her. But nothing about this sensation felt harmless. This time, today, she wouldn't be the submissive one. Her chin lifted, eyes flashing.

"Alex."

The ghost of a smile that flitted across his wide mouth unnerved her, as did his voice when he finally spoke her name.

"Shalimar."

It sounded like a caress, warm and soothing, and she felt the last bit of her heart shattering at his next words.

"I am him."

Twenty feet below them in another tunnel, Brennan stopped so abruptly, Jesse ran smack into his broad back, sending them both staggering a few feet into the darkness.

"Now what?" Nicholas' voice was leery, almost petulant, as he huffed to a stop next to them. He had been forced into a slow run to eventually catch up with them and was having trouble catching his breath.

"Alex is here." Brennan's answer was low, his gaze directed at Jesse and Emma as he spoke. "I can feel him."

"Where?" Jesse's eyes darted around and Nicholas' breathing was heavy in the silence.

"I don't know." Brennan's face was tight with frustration when he finally answered. "Emma?"

"I'm trying." Pain laced her voice, and for the first time, the men noticed her expression was almost contorted.

"Emma?" Startled, Jesse grabbed her shoulders, breaking her concentration. Her knees bowed, and Jesse caught her when she would have sunk to the ground.

"He's been fighting me since we got here." Her eyes were blank when she finally looked back up at him.

"Who? Alex?" Jesse exchanged agonized glances with Brennan.

"I don't know." Emma's whisper was painful on the night air, moist and stale, deep inside the tunnel. "That blankness, it's here, buried beneath layers of memory and pain." She shook her head, eyes closing. "I'm trying to sort it all out."

"You should have told us." Jesse's reprimand was softened by the guilt of not knowing sooner. The psionic mutely asked for understanding, and Jesse finally nodded in return. His fingers brushed the small of her back as he turned his face back toward Brennan.

"Emma," Brennan gently knelt down in front of the redhead, mouth silently working as he struggled to find the next words. "Can you—can you try to feel Shalimar?" His head dropped, knee fidgeting as he felt Jesse's glare boring into his skull.

"Brennan—"

"It's ok." Emma reached out, grasping Brennan's hand, eyes rolling back with intense concentration.

It was so faint, so brief, he almost missed it, the sensation of fresh air and laughter that hovered on the edge of his unconscious and disappeared before he could identify it. He grappled for it selfishly, eagerly, mind rearing back in sudden, confused terror at the wave of blackness that lashed out at him instead.

"Emma?" Her name was ripped from his lips, teeth gritted in agony.

She gave a great heave, crying aloud as she forcefully ripped apart the connection, gasping for breath as she landed on her hands and knees.

Jesse and Nicholas could only stare helplessly as Brennan's body curled in upon itself, the powerful frame reduced to a mere fetal position.

"What was that!" Nicholas' voice shook with shock and outrage.

Emma crawled to Brennan's side, rolling him, hands shaking as she laid cool fingers against his brow until his body relaxed its taut hold.

"Emma," His whisper was stark when he finally was able to respond, the grim awe and horror wrapped up in her name. It was all he could find to say, the horrified realization of what she had been experiencing, of what he had asked her to purposefully find, overwhelmed him.

"That is what we're fighting against." Jesse's jaw flexed grimly as he helped them to stand.

For once, Nicholas stayed silent, at a loss for words, dimly surprised he could find anything more to be shocked about when the redhead spoke her next words.

"There are two of them."

In the ductwork above them, Shalimar was unaware, locked in a tableau of her own.

"Shalimar." Alex repeated her name, and she growled, a warning low in the back of her throat. "I am him," He didn't even blink at her stance, repeating his earlier words. "Does that mean anything to you?"

"What?" She stared at him, nostrils flaring as she subtly inhaled his scent. He was tired, she realized. And afraid, but not of her. It was _for _her, she abruptly recognized. "Alex, what is going on?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," The dark-haired man grinned suddenly, taking her by surprise. He reached for her, stroking her cheek, eyes soft. "It's good to see you again."

"Alex, what—"

Her voice broke off as his expression grew tight again, eyes looking somewhere past her shoulder. She followed his gaze, seeing nothing.

"There's another psionic here, Shal." He spoke quickly, tersely. "I don't know who he is, but he keeps saying those words, like a mantra, over and over again."

The realization sank in slowly, the relief making her almost light-headed as she grabbed at his words. "It's not you." She grasped his hand as he cupped her cheek, interrupting him. "We knew it couldn't be you."

He gave her a quizzical glance, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Shalimar, I've been tracking Eckhart since I left Sanctuary. I finally found him here, at this place, but the last thing I expected was to run into you again." He dropped his hand, eyes drifting to a point behind her for a moment before darting back into her face. "What are you guys doing here?"

Her mind was still reeling, struggling to catch up with everything he had just said. It took her a moment to realize he had stopped talking, brows raised. "Sorry," She shook her head. "We've been through a lot in the past few days since you left. It's a long story, but we found out that Dr. Shaw's research being destroyed back in the caves wasn't the end of things as we thought it was."

"Ok." He nodded his head as she briefly filled him in, eyes narrowing as he began to understand. "Stay here." She wasn't surprised when he abruptly took a step forward, catching his arm to stop him.

"Alex, wait." She waited until he looked back down at her, eyes dark. "Why did you grab me? Why hide yourself from the others, from Brennan?"

Alex smiled, again cupping her cheek. "He really loves you, Shalimar." He paused, head tilting, eyes again drifting slightly, and she finally recognized the gesture. "He's worried about you; he knows I'm here."

"We have to find them."

He nodded, biting his lip. "Shal, this other psionic, I don't know who he is, but he's very strong and very angry. I've been trying to block him from sensing you all are here, but I don't know how much longer I can deceive him." He paused, shaking his head. "Emma's fighting me as well. She doesn't know it, but she's leading him right to her. I'm trying to prevent that, but she's more powerful than I knew. I can't—" His features tightened for a moment, and she suddenly realized the effort he was exerting.

"Alex!" She caught him when he staggered forward.

"I'm sorry, Shalimar." He righted himself, face easing back into neutral lines. "I didn't mean to scare you by grabbing you that way, but I couldn't face all of you and keep up this illusion at the same time. It's too much emotion all at once. There's so much anger, hurt, mistrust. I needed to know what was going on, who this psionic was, and I trust you, Shalimar. And Emma—" He paused again, mouth rueful. "She's kicking my ass."

"Let me tell them." Shalimar brought her comlink to her mouth.

"Shalimar wait," Alex caught her hand. "I—am—him. You have no idea what that means?"

"No, why?" She sensed his distress. "What is it?"

"Because," Alex swallowed, eyes showing fear for the first time. "That psionic out there is—is …me."

Emma knew the moment their presence was recognized, hands grabbing her head as the pain and anger hit her in an overwhelming wave. She had thought it had been strong before, but this was so much more intense. She gasped, struggling for control.

"Emma!" Jesse clasped her elbows. "What's wrong?" His head whipped around, searching the dim tunnel, but it was empty. They had separated from Brennan and Nicholas, searching for Shalimar in pairs.

"I'm ok, I'm ok," She panted breathlessly, straightening back up after a moment. "He knows we're here."

"He didn't before?" Jesse's brow was furrowed, eyes again darting around the tunnel.

"Brennan was right, Alex is here." She closed her eyes. "He's been trying to protect us…I—I didn't know."

"Emma?"

_Emma. Emma. Emma. Looking so sweet. They don't know, do they? The darkness inside. _

She turned her face from Jesse, hardened her expression at the taunting voice in her head. _I told you before, you can't have them._

_We shall see. We shall see._

The voice was merry, eerily so.

_What do you want?_ She dared to open herself a little further, stretching searching…

_No, now is not the time for questions. Now, now we dance…then we hunt. _

"Emma?" Jesse caught her arm, concerned.

Jesse.

She suddenly remembered Shalimar's words from a few days ago as the psionic cackled in her ear.

_Prey._

A bullet suddenly rang out.

Beside her, Jesse had already had a realization or two of his own. He recognized the look on her face, shoving her behind him and massing just as burning pain seared his shoulder. Crap. He barely had time to form the thought. Not again.

It took him a moment to realize that Emma was pulling on him. He unmassed, letting her pull him around the corner just as the sound of several feet came pounding toward them. Instinctively, Jesse tugged on Emma's hand, pulling her to the floor just as another round of bullets pinged against the rock walls. The sound ricocheted, and Jesse covered her body with his own, massing again.

"Are you ok!" He shouted in her ear as more heavy footsteps sounded on the other end of the hallway. They were surrounded by madmen with guns. He groaned, massing again, already feeling the burning need for air.

"Jesse! Unmass!"

It took him a second to figure out what she meant, exhaling in one beat and phasing in the next. He prayed the floor would lead to someplace other than a chunk of solid rock or cold ocean water as he felt them slip through the cold stone, leaving behind cursing agents.

They weren't so lucky.

"Jesse!"

He heard Emma scream as the floor rushed up to them. His hand slammed against metal, and he grabbed for it, nails scraping in the horrific silence, fingers grabbing and catching. Sudden dead weight tugged on his other hand, and he clung to Emma, blinking, startled to see a good twenty feet between them and the floor. The rushing groan of metal snapped his neck back, and he saw the metal ductwork he was clinging to swing slightly from their combined weight.

"Emma!"

He heard her suck in a shaky breath, fingers trembling as building sweat made them slippery.

"Hang on Jesse!"

He felt her arm wrap around him, her legs tangling around his, grunting as she began a slow climb up his body. He began to sweat for an entirely different reason at the unexpected feel of her body pressed against his.

"Sorry," She panted, chuckling despite the exertion as he hissed and clenched his teeth.

His fingers slid another fraction of an inch. "Hurry!" His voice was strained, relieved when her hands clutched the metal next to his. Another breathless moment, and she was safe, straddling the metal duct above him. A few more grunts, and he found himself beside her.

Her hands immediately reached for his shoulder, face creased with worry as her fingers examined his wound.

"It's ok," He was quick to reassure her, "It's only a graze this time, the bullet missed."

She nodded jerkily, bottom lip scissored between her teeth. "That was too close."

"Now what?" Jesse groaned as the metal suddenly screeched, swaying slightly. "I don't know how long this thing will hold us!"

"How high up do you think we are?" Emma sneezed loudly, the sound echoing in the cavernous space.

Silence.

"Jesse?"

"Eighteen, twenty feet."

His voice was quiet. For a long moment, neither of them moved. Then Emma's voice came back quietly.

"I'll need your clothes for a rope."

Jesse groaned again, glad for the relative darkness as he slipped out of his pants and then his jacket and shirt, handing them over to Emma.

She quickly tied them together, eyeing her makeshift rope, adding her own jacket to the mix, holding it up for their mutual inspection.

"Well, it'll get us within five feet of the floor, not bad." Jesse gave her a quick kiss at her brilliance. He looped it around one of the fused metal arms, hoping it would hold long enough to let them down. He dropped the rope, and they both stared down uncertainly at it for a moment.

"Guess I'll go first." Jesse grabbed onto the rope, shimmying down it, heart slamming in his throat as he swung helplessly in the air like a pendulum until his weight settled the clothes rope. He felt the make-shift knots pull and tighten, shivering as the dampness coldness of the air struck him, painfully aware he was clad twenty feet in the air in only in his socks and boxers as he cautiously made his way down. The last few feet looked miles away, but when he let go, he hit the ground with relative ease. "Too easy," He crowed back up at Emma with relief as her white face peered anxiously down from above. "Your turn—"

The sound of more pounding feet suddenly interrupted him.

"Jesse," Emma hissed, face turning toward the sound. "There's got to be five more of them coming this way!" She leaned over, grappling for the swaying rope even as the good humor could be heard in the molecular's voice.

"Uh, Emma? This is going to be undignified. You want to throw back my pants at least?"

"Shut up, Jesse." Emma grunted nervously as she let go of the rope only halfway down, landing in a painful heap next to him.  
"Emma!" He scrambled toward her, surprised when she staggered back to her feet, wrist wrapping around the makeshift rope above her head and giving a powerful yank.

"Help me," She gritted out, head turning as the standing water on the floor began to vibrate from the approaching boots. He reached above her to help her pull.

Six figures turned the corner a moment later, staring in stunned disbelief to find the corridor empty, save for a swaying rope of jackets dangling just above their reach.

"Well, damn."

One of them spoke up in frustration.

_Yeah_, thought Jesse, chest heaving for air as he leaned against the relative safety of the thin wall he had phased them through, pants clutched in his hands. _What he said. _

"Jesse."

The sudden horror in Emma's voice made him afraid to turn around. He slowly turned his head, bile rising in his throat at the sight before them.

His first instinct had been right, he shouldn't have looked.

A sudden pin prick in his neck, and he raised his hand in confusion to find a tiny dart sticking out of his skin. "What the—" He swallowed, adam's apple bobbing in fear as he yanked it out, ground rushing up to meet him before he could form his next thought.

The last time Brennan had heard someone puking so painfully was when he had been trying to relocate a mutant couple through the underground. They had arrived desperately ill with the flu, and he had ended up catching it himself a few days later. It was one of his more miserable memories. The sound confused him now as he tried to remember where he was. He sucked in a deep breath before he thought better and nearly joined whoever was puking his guts out and moaning on the other side of the room. _What the hell was that?_ Panting through his mouth he tried to swallow past the nauseating taste shoving itself down his throat. "What the hell is that smell?"

His voice was raspy, and he wasn't sure he wanted an answer. He hoped it wasn't what he thought it was. He was about to lift his head when a voice came out of the darkness.

"Turn your head toward me before you open your eyes."

Brennan froze. He tried to place the voice, tried to remember what had happened to him. A little sliver of panic began to worry his way into his gut, and he started to pant. He swallowed again.

"Why?"

"Just trust me."

It was Nicholas' voice. Trust me. He had never really considered the cost of those words before. How could he trust this man who didn't believe in his own daughter? Sudden fear clutched at his heart, and he felt tears prickling his closed eyelids at the rancid smell of death around them. _Oh God, please let it not be Shalimar. Not Shalimar. Please._

"Shalimar?"

"No, not her. Keep your voice down and turn your head toward me. There's enough light..." The older man's voice trailed off suddenly, then coughed and returned a little more raspy. "You'll be able to see."

But would he want to? Finally, turning his head toward the voice, he opened his eyes. Weak light from a single dusty light bulb revealed what appeared to be an old stone cellar. He had barely started to focus on his surroundings when someone moved in his field of vision. He blinked and the features of Emma emerged as his eyes adjusted to the low light. "What the hell…?"

He heard the older man make a low-voiced protest, but it was too late. He had already turned to look.

There were bodies. Lots and lots of bodies.

Nicholas had stopped heaving and was panting shallowly. Brennan really could not blame him. The older man was lying right next to one of the more decomposed bodies. He had probably woken up staring at the thing. Brennan felt his gorge rise and swallowed carefully. If he threw up now, he would be dry heaving until he coughed up blood. He realized he was shaking when his teeth started chattering. About the same time, his mind faintly registered that the ground he was lying on was damp and cold and seeping through the thin cotton of his jacket. He groaned, eyes darting back to Emma. He noticed for the first time that Jesse was beside her. They were lying back to back and their hands appeared to be handcuffed behind them. The molecular was unconscious, Emma's eyes fluttering as she struggled to awaken. His own wrists were handcuffed together although his arms were raised above his head and the cuffs appeared to be hooked through a metal ring set into the stone wall. He turned his head again to find Nicholas similarly tied, arms stretched above him. He was conscious and seemed to be studying the layout of the ceiling.

Or listening for footsteps.

"I woke up to find us all this way." The older man noticed his gaze. "Knock out drugs."

Brennan blinked, then squinted over at him. "What?"

"The reason we're all in here." The man grimaced. "I'm guessing they don't want us calling for help just yet."

Adam.

Brennan stared at him in dawning horror. Since the ransom trade with Danny didn't work, they were now to be used as a lure for Adam. He thought for a moment. "Shalimar?"

"I don't know."

He rubbed his fingers, swearing softly. His ring had been removed.

Emma coughed, and Nicholas sighed, falling silent.

"What happened?" Emma finally spoke, voice scratchy as she stirred awake.

"It's ok, Emma." Brennan couldn't reach her, so tried to reassure her with his voice. "We've been captured somehow and are locked in one of the tunnels. Nicholas and Jesse are here as well." He searched his memory, trying to remember what happened as she coughed violently. He vaguely remembered being hit from behind and thrown down the stairs. He had no idea where Shalimar was, and he was certain Alex was somewhere in the building as well.

As if sudden thought conjured reality, the door above suddenly rattled and light flooded the room for a brief moment. Brennan froze, the bright light a flashback to his nightmares. Another rustling sounded across the room, and he realized they weren't alone. He turned his head, seeing owlishly large eyes staring at him through a slitted grate in the shadows.

Danny.

Rage surged through Brennan at the knowledge that the little boy had been subjected to this horror for so long.

A bulky figure stepped through the door, blocking the light, cutting off Brennan's view of Danny. He growled in frustration, freezing again when Nicholas gave a sudden gasp as the figure stepped into the room and under the single bulb dangling from the ceiling.

Numbly, Brennan stared at the man.

It was Alex.

Shocked, he opened his mouth, muscles trembling in outrage as a slow smile spread over the man's face. An unearthly light seemed to emanate from his eyes, glowing brighter and stronger as dark brown swirled and turned violet.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer—See Chapter One

A/N: Here's the second half of the chapter for you! The beginning is a little abrupt because I originally wrote this with chapter 14 as one long chapter, so sorry about that. I put the ending of part one in italics at the beginning as a reminder, so hopefully that helps. If you're able to, I'd strongly recommend reading chapters 14 and 15 or "parts one and two" together in one sitting so it makes the most sense. But I know they're long, so I tried to split them up at a natural break. Hopefully I didn't lose too much momentum by doing so. Most of the plot lines are wrapped up in this half, so I hope it all makes sense. I had to simplify them or else this story would have gone on forever! So I hope this shortened version doesn't disappoint too much. I'll post the final epilogue as soon as I can! Thank you all so much!

Traveling On—Chapter Fifteen

_As if sudden thought conjured reality, the door above suddenly rattled and light flooded the room for a brief moment. Brennan froze, the bright light a flashback to his nightmares. Another rustling sounded across the room, and he realized they weren't alone. He turned his head, seeing owlishly large eyes staring at him through a slitted grate in the shadows. _

_Danny._

_Rage surged through Brennan at the knowledge that the little boy had been subjected to this horror for so long. _

_A bulky figure stepped through the door, blocking the light, cutting off Brennan's view of Danny. He growled in frustration, freezing again when Nicholas gave a sudden gasp as the figure stepped into the room and under the single bulb dangling from the ceiling. _

_Numbly, Brennan stared at the man._

_It was Alex. _

_Shocked, he opened his mouth, muscles trembling in outrage as a slow smile spread over the man's face. An unearthly light seemed to emanate from his eyes, glowing brighter and stronger as dark brown swirled and turned violet._

Brennan swore, throwing himself forward, slamming his wrists into the handcuffs.

The grin grew impossibly wider, the light coming from him growing stronger until it blinded Brennan. He refused to look away however, teeth bared, the challenging snarl dying on his lips when Alex's features suddenly twisted grotesquely. Horrified, Brennan watched as the face of his brother started to melt, merging and shifting.

He suddenly stopped his struggle, realizing he was looking into the face of a stranger.

A violet-eyed stranger.

"Who are you?" Brennan's voice demanded an explanation.

Nicholas shook with painful realization.

He had thought it would be more climactic somhow. The moment he learned the name of the killer. Saw the face of the monster. Discovered the identity of the man who had haunted his daughter. He had thought it would mean something, answer some questions or at least tell him why.

He had never thought it would be the face of a friend.

As the mutant ignored Brennan and came to a stop in front of him, Nicholas Fox felt sick indignation that the man he had trusted, the man he had willingly allowed free reign of his office, his company, and whom he had blindly told over the phone they were coming to this compound, was the bad guy. He had led him straight to his daughter, to all of them. He swallowed.

This was not the way it was supposed to happen.

He was supposed to be some demented monster capable of fiendishly horrible acts. A red-eyed, drooling madman frothing at the mouth. He was not supposed to be someone he knew, a man who had sympathized with the father over the past months, who had brought him late night cups of coffee. Who had, Nicholas remembered sickly, sat in his own office and smiled at the picture of Shalimar.

Nicholas Fox's personal assistant Damien Wilson stared down at his hostages, face empty of rage, sorrow…regret. Then he smiled politely.

"Surprised?"

"You used me, you bastard."

Damien read Nicholas' response from his lips. He looked thoughtful for a moment, then shrugged. "I told you that you'd find your daughter again."

Involuntarily Nicholas' eyes went to Brennan, and he immediately regretted it. Damien's face lost its eerie calm and friendly expression as rage boiled up from nowhere. The lack of warning and sheer speed of the transformation was terrifying. As Damien turned to grab the back of Brennan's jacket and hauled him one-handed to his feet, Nicholas realized that this was the true face of the monster. A man who looked rational…and was not.

It was with bitter realization that he finally got what his daughter had been trying to tell him.

Damien backhanded Brennan savagely, pushing him to his knees, then sank his fingers into his hair and wrenched the elemental's head back until his face was clearly visible in the poor lighting. Still drugged, Brennan's body was weak, sluggish, eyes glaring in defiance. For a long moment, Damien stared down into Brennan's face. "Where's Adam?"

Brennan rolled his eyes that the man actually thought he would talk, but the psionic didn't notice. His attention had turned to Emma and then Danny, face reluctantly fascinated as both psionics watched silently, angrily.

"What do you see?"

The odd tone in Damien's voice confused Brennan for a moment, until he identified it. Then he wanted to be sick. Arousal. The bastard was aroused at the thought that someone had a direct line into his head. He growled, attracting the mutant's attention back to himself, finding himself staring into the angry eyes of a madman. His eyes went flat, face blank as he just stared back, silent.

It struck Nicholas that the quality of his silence held more of the captured predator and nothing of the victim. Was it training? Experience? Or had he simply made his peace with the thought of death? Damien leaned closer, but not, Nicholas noticed, too close. He turned away, meeting Emma's eyes. Old eyes in a too-young face, and he realized they all knew exactly what would probably happen.

Damien's voice was extremely polite when he spoke again. "Where's the feral?"

"Safe from you." Brennan bared his teeth triumphantly.

Nicholas' whole body stiffened, eyes burning at the quiet answer. Unbidden, tears broke free and slipped unchecked down his face in dimness. In them, he felt grief and anger and loss. But amazingly he also felt hope at the sudden realization.

Shalimar was safe.

No matter what happened from here on out, his only daughter was safe. In the darkness, his own death assured, he somehow thought that Shalimar had known the risk she was taking all along. He looked at the rotting bodies stacked like forgotten dolls along the walls. They had all known the risk. He struggled with overwhelming fear for a moment, just about finding acceptance when Brennan suddenly moved. Every head turned as the elemental climbed back to his knees, swaying slightly.

"Tell me who you are."

The mutant didn't answer, simply tapping his gun against his teeth in silent thought.

Brennan had a sudden flashback of his vision, of Alex whispering in his ear as Naxcon collapsed all around them. _I—am—him_. His eyes caught Danny's, the little boy watching him intently.

And then it all made sense.

He nodded to Danny, the oversized eyes falling shut in relief that his message had finally been understood.

Eckhart.

Brennan's jaw flexed, turning to Emma and Jesse next.

It had all started because Eckhart wanted to crack the genetic code, had tried to recreate the work done by Adam, Shaw, and Haines. The bones back in the underground caves had been evidence of his experiments, his attempts to create life just to destroy it again.

Made-to-order super mutants.

But all these years, he hadn't been able to perfect the process. When he couldn't get the list, he went after Adam, needing his DNA. They had all known that for a while. But they had forgotten one important thing.

Alex.

Brennan dropped his head, Dr. Shaw's final message playing in his mind. _The baby, he didn't die, Adam. We were deceived by Eckhart. He kept him for the prophecy, for his own gain to power. I fear what he plans to do. _He remembered Adam's own words back in the caves, now a futile warning. _If Eckhart got ahold of that research, those bones we found, all those innocent mutants that were experimented on, would be just the beginning. He would continue to create and play with innocent lives until he perfected the process and then would use it to his advantage._

"I—am—him." He repeated the words aloud, catching the mutant's attention. "Eckhart manufactured you with Alex's DNA. And you used that to get us here."

Startled, Damien's eyes narrowed on Brennan, glancing between him and Danny with something akin to sick fascination. And then he smiled, evil, soulless, and Brennan shivered, realizing that Shalimar's words had been true all along. Michael…Damien…pretending to be human. Though he couldn't explain it, he was convinced he had felt a connection to the souls of those tortured by Eckhart. But these latest creations…Brennan shook his head, meeting Emma's eyes, knowing that she had figured it all out as well. She hadn't been able to sense them. They had been experimented on so much, changed so much, it was as if they had ceased to be human…and became something else instead. Sickened, Brennan couldn't accept the truth in Emma's eyes, the thought too disturbing as it hit too close to home. Where did the line get drawn between human and mutant? Between black and gray? All they wanted was to be left alone, for their own semblance of normal. His expression changed, shifting to one of pity, and then anger. They were monsters, made from the blood of one of his own.

"Why?" He demanded. "Why my brother?"

"Because I could, Mr. Mulwray."

Brennan's eyes closed in frustration at the smooth tones of the voice from above them.

"Eckhart."

"Damien, find the girl."

He disappeared without another word.

Rage, a rolling black mass, built a rapid fire in Brennan, screaming in outrage as he blindly threw himself against the chains, feeling the edge slide closer, howling in his ear.

"Brennan."

His head snapped to the left, and he met Emma's infuriated gaze. For a split second, ice fed fire, meltwater cracking into component atoms, hydrogen and oxygen feeding the flames. Then slowly, sanity prevailed.

He was not alone.

They were not alone.

Defensive anger hesitated, then retreated slowly as ice water cooled the edge of the flames long enough for Brennan to regain his mental footing. Secure in her support, no matter what he chose to do, he paused to think of the consequences.

Secure in his backing, she paused to consider battle plans.

To take another look at the options.

And then the decision was made for them.

A flicker in the shadows, and Brennan again found himself rising to his knees. Damien was armed, but he seemed mesmerized by the darkness emanating from the man. A darkness more than dangerous than he could ever hope to be.

But that, Nicholas suddenly realized as he helplessly watched the exchange, was exactly who Damien thought he was seeing.

Damien was a man you could pass on the street and never remember you had met him. Even now, Nicholas could barely see the monster. Surrounded by corpses, his mind still wanted to see an ordinary man with an affable smile. He shifted uneasily as Brennan moved among the shadows with a predatory grace that Damien lacked. Emma suddenly rose to her feet as well, hands cuffed behind her back. A weaker Jesse suddenly staggered up as well. Nicholas hadn't even been aware he had woken. Even handicapped, they were a formidable sight. Menace and rage cloaked the trio like black smoke, mocking the madman.

Damien jerked as if he'd been slapped. "Sit down."

The command was weak.

They ignored him.

Hatred spewed from eyes that contained only the fires of pathetic insanity as he lifted his gun. "Sit down!" His voice was a scream of anger and loss. Rage and hatred. His angry pants were the only sounds audible and no one moved. Every eye was fixed on the gun Damien was pointing directly at Brennan's heart. The elemental did nothing for a long moment. Then his head rose slowly and Nicholas found himself holding his breath as awareness flooded hooded eyes and white teeth flashed in a feral grin, a match to the one flaring in the shadows across the room.

"Got you."

Then the shadows grew substance and Damien's astonished face was falling, falling forward, and Nicolas was staring into honey brown eyes twin to his own. The rest of the room was equally still as Shalimar absently brushed the dust from jacket, Alex standing directly behind her, arms crossed tightly across his chest.

Brennan winced as he climbed to his feet. "He threw me down the stairs, Shal."

She looked at the disgusting substances decorating his clothing. "Don't even think of asking me to kiss it better," She warned.

Nicholas' mouth gaped, struggling to understand their mundane words.

Brennan's mouth twitched in reply.

Then both were moving, Shalimar's hands impatiently ripping the bindings away, throwing herself against him as he caught her up, lifting her off the floor and burying his face in her hair as her arms fiercely wrapped around his neck. He held her for long moments, finally turning to greet his brother, following Shalimar again as she caught sight of the grate from her dreams, of the pale face staring solemnly back at her. She silently ripped the grate off, Brennan catching the little boy as he shrank back at the screeching noise.

"Hey, it's ok." Brennan's voice was soothing, and Danny trembled, chin nodding, glasses sliding down his nose as he let himself be picked up.

"You came." He stared at Brennan, little hand patting his cheek as if to reassure himself it was real.

"Yeah." Brennan blinked, eyes stinging, answer hoarse at the knowledge of how closely things could have taken a different path. "We got your message."

Simultaneously Jesse and Emma suddenly winced, raising their hands to rub their ears. Nicholas realized with astonishment that the two still had their comlinks, and that they had been activated the entire time.

"Adam's awake." Jesse sighed as he held his head in his hands. Throbbing pain rumbled in his skull, and he struggled to remember exactly what happened.

"He got Brennan's, but not ours." Emma calmly explained at Nicholas' blank expression. "I just made him think our rings were already gone."

"Uh, Jess?"

Jesse blinked blurrily at Shalimar as she nodded pointedly at him. It took him a moment to figure out she was trying to tell him. It took him another moment to figure out why he was so cold.

Very cold.

He looked down, face turning beat red.

Throughout the whole ordeal, his pants had remained clutched in his fist.

Even Danny smiled, a faint whisper on tiny lips until his eyes again caught sight of the room.

"We better get out of here." Brennan was brought back to reality when Danny trembled in his arms, remembering where they were. He nodded at Shalimar, leading them up the stairs while she set the others free. Jesse quickly pulled on his pants as soon as his hands were loose.

Shalimar leaned down and calmly unlocked the handcuffs holding her father last. She met his eyes, and he suddenly realized that this was the first time she had looked at him since that first glance. His attention went to the long ugly scratch along her forehead. Her eyes held nothing. He looked for something he recognized and whatever she was searching for in his, he didn't think she found it before she turned away.

He did not move to hold her back.

Only Alex remained behind.

His eyes were shadowed, dark as he stared at the bodies left to rot. Human carcasses stacked like corkwood in an abandoned lower tunnel. Based upon the overwhelming intact skulls and still decomposing bodies, the exact number of lost lives was nearly impossible to determine. He stared at the atrocity. Too many of the victims would remain faceless, voiceless, lost in the mists of time. Nameless forever.

No.

He would not let this continue. He would not close his eyes and walk away. No. He would not let them win. Not now. Not ever. Not even if it cost him pain, his life, his soul.

No.

Death terrified him because of what it could take from him, but it did not offend him. Death was just the other face of life. The men who would seek to pervert death, they offended him. With every brutalized and broken body, they offended him. And in the heart of offense was born rage. Bone deep and ice cold, it sat in judgment of the monsters who wore the faces of men and breathed one word deep in the depths of his soul.

No.

A hand on his shoulder startled him, but he felt his brother's presence like a balm to his wounded soul.

Brennan cleared his throat. "You ok?" He glanced at Alex's face, realizing with sudden shock that silver tracks gleamed on his cheeks as silent tears slipped down his face. Without thought, he turned, pulling him into an embrace.

"Yeah." Alex pulled away after a brief moment, shoving his hands in his pockets. "All those years in a pod, I thought nothing could be worse." He nodded at the evidence of the experiments before them. "Turns out I was one of the lucky ones."

Brennan had a sudden newfound respect for Adam. He had been angry when he had learned what he had done all those years ago when he had separated them as babies. But now, he realized with deep gratitude, he had saved their lives. He cleared his throat again, glancing sideways at Alex.

"So how did you get here anyway?"

Alex smiled. "Shalimar asked me the same thing."

Brennan quirked one eyebrow. "You're the one that took her." It wasn't a question.

"I had to know what was happening… Sorry about that."

"It's ok, I would have done the same thing."

They exchanged brief smiles, a hint of awkwardness returning. It was a strange feeling, being so connected to someone you hardly knew.

"Where's Danny?" Alex's gaze had drifted to the top of the stairs.

"Shal's got him."

"She told me about your dreams."

Brennan nodded silently.

"I followed Eckhart here…I was shocked to find you guys here as well. I was even more shocked to sense the team's apprehension of me."

"I never believed it." Brennan looked at his brother again. "I want you to know that."

"I know."

"Good."

They fell silent again.

"I heard what was said about Damien as well, over Shalimar's comlink." Bitterness filled Alex's voice. "The bastard was impersonating me. He has my blood, and he used his psionic abilities to play with your minds. It was just a sick game to him, messing with you even as he used Shalimar's father to further Eckhart's maniacal goal."

Brennan smiled faintly. "It amazes me how unrelated, but interconnected it all is."

"Choices."

"Yeah."

"That little boy shows promise." Alex started up the stairs suddenly. "He beat Eckhart and Damien at their own game."

"What do you mean?" Brennan glanced back over his shoulder at Damien, but the mutant was still unconscious.

"They knew he was psionic; Damien was monitoring him, keeping him from calling for help. So instead, he sent you dreams that Damien didn't catch. Very subtle and very smart."

Brennan caught Shalimar's eyes as he emerged from the darkness. "Shal's the one that figured it out."

"She was heavy on your mind, Danny picked up on that." Alex leaned his shoulder against the doorframe.

Brennan came to a stop behind Shalimar, resting his hands on her shoulders as she leaned into his chest. Danny had attached himself to her leg, his head barely reaching her chest, her hand holding his. At the tender age of nine when most boys were fighting to show independence, this little boy had been cheated of that opportunity. They would make sure it wouldn't happen again. His eyes, large and solemn, were on Emma, and Brennan knew she must be keeping him calm.

"So now what?" Jesse spoke quietly. Eckhart was still somewhere around them, along with untold numbers of agents he had working here. They had been fortunate that only a handful seemed to be guarding the lower tunnels of the compound.

"Now we finish this once and for all." Alex's voice had lost all inflection.

No one was able to reconstruct exactly what happened next.

Brennan had started back down the stairs to where they had left Damien at the same time that Eckhart reappeared, ghostly smile across his pale features. He was looking more sickly than the last time they had seen him.

It was the only thought Shalimar had time to formulate before all hell broke loose.

Halfway down the stairs, Brennan heard the hiss of the flame the same time he saw movements in the shadows. It occurred to him that the fire at Naxcon hadn't been started by Alex…but by someone impersonating him.

"What are you doing?" His hands had already started to gather a swirl of electricity.

The psionic turned violet-eyes on him and calmly answered. "Hunting."

Running footsteps were suddenly thundering above, but Brennan never broke eye contact. Fire and electricity crackled in tandem and then the room exploded.

A black wave brought Brennan to his knees, passing over him, and he saw it strike the psionic. In the split second before it hit, the man's face twisted in horror as he realized his fatal mistake. He hadn't known about the natural methane, Brennan dimly thought, not seeing Emma behind him, her eyes rolling black before Jesse snatched her back.

But it was too late.

Brennan had a half second to recognize the rumbling vibrations beneath his feet as something odd.

Explosive potential disintegrated the grate on the far end of the tunnel and slammed into the rock and cement room that had been Danny's prison just behind. Only there was no exit, no place for the blast to vent to and the room was already overpressurized with a huge reservoir of pure methane. Liters of high pressure methane spewed back through the door, forced outward by the reservoir's own massive overpressure and the flames howling along behind. Then the flames reached the trailing edge of the vapor cloud now fully formed.

And it detonated.

In an eerily silent explosion of light, Brennan saw the flash first. He dimly registered that reflected light traveled faster than a blast wave, wondering why he was remembering eleventh grade physics at the moment before his death. And then his body was flying backward, eyes seared shut as the encroaching blast followed him up the stairs. Another flash visible behind closed lids and the world blew up.

Eyes burning, Brennan felt more than saw his brother mass in front of him, felt the tip of his hair singeing as the blast blew outward. And he felt it when his brother left him, running headlong into the flame.

"Noooo!" He heard Shalimar's sobs, falling backwards and landing roughly on his back. Lungs burning, eyes swollen, he tried to climb to his feet, only to collapse as the leg beneath him twisted and failed. He gasped and stared in numb horror at the gleam of bone protruding from his thigh…then he started gagging uncontrollably when he realized that the bone was not his.

Jesse unmassed, gasping for air, sobbing in relief when he saw he had managed to get to the others in time.

They were safe.

Shalimar's hands landed on Brennan, cradling his head ever so gently in her lap, fingers gently and impatiently brushing the blackened soot from his face.

"Brennan—," Her broken whisper was painful in the eerie aftermath of the rumbling explosion.

Eckhart was nowhere to be seen.

Neither was Alex.

"Shalimar," Jesse grimly held Danny, pressing the little boy's face into his shoulder to block his view. "We have to get out of here." He looked up nervously at falling chunks of debris. "We don't know how much damage was done to the building."

"Alex—" She started again to her feet.

"Shalimar, we're underwater."

Jesse's pointed reminder gave her pause, glancing up and seeing the jagged cracks running through the walls, the ceiling. There was a good twenty feet or more of additional rock above their head as well, not even counting the building that was above ground.

"Emma?" Shalimar almost whimpered, hesitating.

"I feel him, Shal." Emma's eyes were closed, "He's finally letting me feel him."

Shalimar bit back a sob in relief. "Where?"

"Here." Alex's hoarse voice came out of the darkness.

Sitting in the middle of the debris of the ruined cellar he stared as the mutilated face of his enemy.

He would never hurt anyone ever again.

He rose numbly to his feet, walking away without looking back.

The return to Sanctuary was one of odd moments of lucid clarity and faded confusion for Brennan.

But he remembered the rain.

It fell gently, warm and misted as the storm had finally broken sometime during the night. The sun was rising, turning the horizon a soft glow of pinks and oranges, gray clouds a thin ribbon in the sky.

And he remembered the air.

Fresh and sweet, born from the fierceness of the storm, tradewinds rippled soft currents in a soothing caress.

And Shalimar was whispering softly, pure and gentle tones that lulled him to sleep.

Shalimar watched the emergency painkiller Jesse had administered begin to take effect, finally letting herself relax, finding the reassurance she needed in his closing eyes. The eyes she would need in the back of her head. The eyes that she could trust would be watching intently for anything that would harm her family. All along, she had been so afraid that love would be a distraction; she hadn't stopped to consider it would save them.

"Rest baby." She whispered in his ear. "This time I'll watch for both of us." She soothed his hair back, hearing the crunch of burned edges, pressing a kiss to his lips, knowing how close they had been to the edge.

And survived.

"Ready?"

She nodded up at Jesse, watching as he and Alex lifted Brennan together, loading him onto the boat. Her father came up behind her, hesitantly putting a hand on her shoulder. For a moment, she didn't move, and then rested her hand over his with a touch so light he was reminded of silk. And then she was gone, clamoring aboard the boat to reclaim her position next to the man she loved.

Nicholas Fox felt the tears prickling behind tired eyes, watching his daughter as she stood guard over the misfit bunch she called family.

The sight brought physical pain to his chest.

It was strange, and he didn't know if he would ever fully understand it.

But it was somehow beautiful.

He was the last one to climb aboard, sitting alone in the stern, the borrowed boat churning smoothly through the water until even the wake had dissolved and only their footprints in the sand were left.

It was something basely human that linked them all together, that sense of wanting to belong, of being safe. They had made the choice to travel on…together, and it was in that choice that they found their safe place.

Not in physical walls or conventional understanding, but in the trust and security of each other.

And so they continued, against the odds of it all.

Traveling on.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer—See Chapter One

A/N: Here is the epilogue for you! It's a strange feeling to be posting the final chapter after spending the past seven months on this story and the past year on this series. I'm sorry again for having to condense the final chapters as I know I'm giving up more than I would have liked, but I can't stand leaving something unfinished, so this was the compromise. I made a video clip as a companion to this story, so if you have time, I would love for you to check it out on my little site. I'm still quite the novice with vidding, but it was a fun challenge to make! It's been a long road, and I thank you all so much for traveling this journey with me. I couldn't have done it without your support and encouragement! Thank you!

A/N II: Thank you so much to the following: Mari, this series would never have happened if not for you. Thank you for sharing your time, your talent, and your friendship with me. Vivi, thank you for always being there. Audrey, you're awesome! Thank you for your unbiased opinions and assistance. Rogue, thank you for giving your time when you had so little to give. Rachel, thanks so much for the emails and sharing your time and talent. Redhead2, I'm so jealous you got to meet Forbes March! I will mostly definitely be there for your next story. Thank you for all your encouraging words! Blackpanther, Mayra, Rain, CatJerica, Fiery Feral, you guys have consistently been there for me over the past year, and I can't thank you enough for all your words and insight. Susie, Anamalia-Fear, Kitty Invictus, Tunder28, skimmboardergurl, your enthusiasm and support has meant wonders to me. Thank you! To all of you who took the time to leave such kind and thoughtful reviews: Jessica, Lisa, tantumfan, AussieMXfan, ShalBrenLove, Cassidy Wich, rena, Shal35, Mxfan214, Adele, EternalFire-angel, Courtney, Marie, Angel35, Kerry, Rachel, ShalFan, Cristina, Stephanie, Anne, Aurore-e, Crazy-Kitty-19, melodie568, and to anyone kind enough to review this last chapter—Thank you all so much!

Traveling On—Epilogue

Two months later:

Footprints.

Brennan stared down at the smudged impressions in the sand, small smile playing around his lips that such a mundane thing now gave him pause. It had been nearly eight weeks since his leg had been injured, but he was just now gaining the strength to walk again. His injury had been severe; impalement. For a while there had been fear he would lose the leg. Dormant feral genes and sheer stubbornness brought slow recovery to the damaged muscle. And today, almost exactly eights weeks to the day of the injury, he was walking again.

Footprints.

He shoved his hands into his pockets, shoulders rounded against the drizzling rain. Shalimar had told him the sun had shone nearly every day while he had been laid up in Sanctuary. His smile twisted ruefully, face lifting to the sky, not minding the coolness of the drizzling mist. The sun was fighting to come out, a pale outline in a gray cloud, and he sympathized with it, could relate with it. The ocean rolled, waves lapping wistfully, begging him to play. He complied, kicking a spray of water back into the wave, and the ocean roared in response. Behind him, Shalimar laughed aloud, and he turned, shooting her a grin. She waved, pointing up the beach to indicate she would wait for him there. He nodded, turning back around, grateful for the petite feral. She had been his lifeline over the past few months, and she understood his need to take these first steps on his own.

But still she had his back. Still she watched him.

And he wouldn't expect anything less from her.

His leg trembled beneath him, and he hated the deep weakness still in his body; He was determined to make it through this outing without the dreaded crutch Shalimar held for him. It had been a gradual process, from flat on his back in bed, to a wheelchair, to the crutches. But here he was. He exhaled deeply. It was a soft, spring evening. A spray mist hung over the breakers, glowing dimly in the light from the waning sun. The sweetness of the air caught him by surprise. The rain was a cleansing one, a healing one, and for today at least, he welcomed the feel of it, the smell of salt and wet sand wrapping around him. He took another deep breath and it filled his lungs. He loved it here.

Things had been relatively quiet the past few months since Eckhart died. A few small missions, a few rumblings in the underground, more secrets from Adam as he whispered frantically with his sources behind closed doors.

And Alex was gone.

He had stayed through the rockiness of the first couple of weeks, hovering over Brennan until Adam recovered enough himself to take over, ordering him to get some sleep and happily reclaiming control over his lab. But once the worst had past and Brennan began to show recovery, the restlessness had returned to the other man. He had paced until even the vastness of Sanctuary felt overly confining, the relief stark in his eyes when Brennan had kindly and pointedly told him he could leave.

Ironically enough, it was Alex who had also taken Danny. During those first few weeks of unknown, the little boy had been a source of comfort for Alex and when he was finally able to see beyond the worry for his brother, Alex saw the pain and need of the little life beside him. And with a fierceness that surprised all of them, he had poured all of his energy into healing them both. They were a mismatched pair, the sensitive little boy with owlish eyes and too large glasses and the burdened man with bulky strength and disillusioned heart.

But they worked.

Another example of how they defied the world's sense of normalcy each and every day.

The ocean sent another round of waves lapping at his feet, and Brennan stopped walking. He was tired. But a good tired, he decided as he turned and stared out across the water. It was getting colder, the dampness settling on his skin.

There was so much that was still unknown.

Eckhart was dead, but they were just beginning to sense the ramifications.

Mutant X had been subtly and utterly changed. They had been birthed in pain and fought desperately in secrecy. They had grown up. Illusion was gone, but misdirection prevailed. They were all a part of it now. The bending, rough-cut mask had been removed, and they clenched all the more tightly together.

Shalimar had faced her childhood nightmares and had faced her father. While her relationship with him was still tenuous, it was a start. For now at least, she seemed content to leave it be. It had been Nicholas who had helped them piece the final pieces together. In the end, it had been so simple. Adam hadn't known what happened to Haines after he left Genomex, how he had come to be driving a Naxcon company car, but Nicholas had seen his picture and had recognized him as an employee. Damien's befriending of Shalimar's father hadn't been just to gain access to Shalimar or to the company's resources. It had also been to find the list, Haines' work. _Adam's work_, Brennan mentally corrected, eyes narrowing slightly. It had led to Danny's kidnapping, the start of their dreams, and the revelation of Brennan and Alex's haunting connection to the souls of those murdered people. The violet-eyed psionic had been a made to order mutant, made stronger because of DNA from Alex, and a picture of what, his brother had quietly shared, Alex could have been had he not been saved by Shalimar's love early in life. She had shown him friendship, and Eckhart had never stood a chance.

And then there was the prophecy.

A hawk cawed abruptly, breaking the silence; a muscle tightening in Brennan's jaw the only indicator he was aware.

There had been a second part of the prophecy not told in Dr. Shaw's messages. Dr. Shaw had revealed the foretelling of twins, that together would be the most powerful ever known. But only Adam had known the rest of it, a foretelling of a time when the power of those same twins would have great affect on the world. Adam's explanation had been vague, dismissive, but a part of Brennan still wondered if he knew more than he said. The precog had never been found, his name lost amidst the destruction of the underground facilities. But it had been worth it, bringing to light the horrors of those tortured souls, and putting an end to it all. No more would a mutant suffer in the hands of experimentation. And no more could his brother's blood be used against them. Adam had dismissed the prophecy, but Eckhart had believed it. And that unnerved Brennan. Everything they had uncovered, everything they now knew, it had been all about Alex. Brennan couldn't help but wonder what his part in all of it was supposed to be.

The hawk called again, a lonely sound, until another finally answered.

Shalimar.

Brennan turned, heading back down the beach to where she patiently stood waiting, suddenly tired of being alone. She straightened when she saw him coming, walking forward to meet him halfway. She held out the crutch quizzically, tossing it aside when his brow furrowed, slipping under his arm, staying silent when he leaned heavily into her strength.

It was a given.

They watched each other, and they leaned on each other.

They slowly wound their way back to Sanctuary. The smell of the sea was stronger now, the tide turning, leaving the sand flats bare, stretching smoothly behind them save for two sets of smudged impressions side by side in the sand, merging and colliding over the single path, traveling onward.

Footprints.

Sanctuary was warm and quiet when they slipped back inside, the others nowhere to be seen in the vast mountain home. They were soaked through, Brennan's rubber shoes squeaking noisily with each wet step toward his room. Shalimar clucked her tongue when he just laughed at her pointed expression. He didn't care that he was sopping wet, that his clothes clung miserably to his frame or that he was starting to shiver with the cold. His fingers traveled up Shalimar's slender back, tugging teasingly on her wet locks. She flashed him a grin, giving him a gentle shove through his door when he tried to kiss her.

"Hey—" His protest was cut off when she abruptly slammed against him, the thump of the closing door lost on him as she filled his senses. Wet. Warmth. Love. He couldn't focus on one single thing, impressions overwhelming him at once as her presence filled his nose and she closed her mouth over his. Softly. Gently. Urgently. He groaned as she edged closer, arms winding around his neck in a tender hug. When she pulled back, he met her eyes, smoothing his fingers across the faint freckles on either cheekbone, one hand slipping into her hair. They both watched as he gently lifted the ends of her hair, letting them drift through his fingers before his hand dropped. His eyes rose to meet hers again, cupping the nape of her neck, gently stroking her earlobe with his thumb. She tilted her head into his palm, smiling when he shook his head slightly.

"Shalimar," His voice was hoarse with emotion, and she burrowed more closely into him, leaning him back against the edge of the bed, drawing him down with her and settling against his chest. He held her close, and she lay still, her cheek on his heart. She closed her eyes and let herself relax into his warmth, adjusting her breathing to the rise and fall of his chest, and let her mind empty of everything but his heart pounding under her ear and his fingers rubbing her scalp. After a while, the gentle fingers caressing the back of her head stopped. She lay still, wondering if he'd fallen asleep. He must be exhausted. She didn't really want to move. She wanted to lie here holding him. For a while, she didn't move, just listening to the distant hum of their home, the occasional chirp of a computer. Finally, she sighed. They were too damp for him to sleep this way; she'd have to wake him up. She tilted her head to look at his face. His eyes were still open; he was looking down into her face.

She watched him watch her and felt something like amazement overtake her. Whatever it was that had kept them apart all those years, that had filled her with doubt even after they were together, had disappeared. Amidst the discoveries of the last few months, they had melded into one. She could tell by his eyes that he felt it too.

"What?" She could barely whisper, and he could barely reply.

"Your face, so serious…"

I love you, she thought. It's as simple as that.

He smiled suddenly, and it lit up his eyes and his face, and sent a wave of warmth crashing through her.

"I want to show you something."

His soft words took her by surprise, and she bit back a groan of protest when he gently untangled himself from her arms. She sat up, watching him as he rose, limping slightly as he walked toward a tall bureau in the corner. He opened a middle drawer, rummaging around for a moment before pulling out a large leather-bound book. An album. She hadn't expected that. Now that he was finally on the mend, they hadn't been able to get enough of each other. She watched, curious, as he settled back beside her on the bed, curling comfortably into him, chin on his chest, waiting. He sighed, fingers hesitating on the rich leather cover, and she tilted her head to read his expression. His smile was inexplicitly shy, his eyes serious as he opened the book. The pictures were aged, the edges slightly yellowed, but she knew immediately before he even told her.

"This was my mother, Shal." His fingers brushed across the photo. "And this was me." He touched a chubby baby smiling toothlessly into the camera.

"You were loved."

It wasn't a question, but he gave a slow infinitesimal nod as he turned the page. She remembered his nightmares, eyes suddenly stinging as he shared his pictures with her. There were only a handful, but she understood their meaning. Brennan at been left alone at only nine years old, too young to be alone. He had grown up on the streets, had never really known what home was like. She had. But then she had been thrust from her home at ten years old and had been left to fend for herself. She had been beaten, abused, until she escaped. And then she was on the streets too. Their backgrounds were more similar than they had even known. Alex had been the first family she had ever known, and then he too had disappeared. Everyone she had ever loved had disappeared. She closed her eyes at the familiar pain, turning away so he wouldn't see the sudden tears tripping onto him, but Brennan's hand had worked its way back into her hair, trapping her head close to his own so their eyes were only six inches apart.

"You are loved too, Shal."

She nodded slightly within the confines of his hands. Tears were still dripping on him, and now her nose was threatening to drip on him too.

"No one is going to disappear on you, not this time."

He had understood more than she realized. She nodded against his hands, watching his eyes; they were glistening slightly with moisture too. He smiled slightly at her searching look, brushing his lips over her eyelids for long moments, hands loosening as he looked away from her and back at the photos again. She dropped her head and rested it against his neck, turning to stare at the photos too. The next one of him showed him laughing…

Gently he stroked her hair.

They lay in silence for a long time.

It was their combined shivering that finally roused them. She felt his hand touch hers, then slide to link with her fingers. "We should get back to the lab," She finally broke the silence with a sigh. "Adam's going to want to know how you're holding up."

"I'm holding up just fine," Brennan murmured, tucking his fingers under the back of her shirt and stroking her lower back. "Besides, Adam will just want to run a bunch of tests. He'll talk and talk and talk…" His fingers stroked higher, pushing up her shirt. "I've spent too much time in that lab the past two months already. I'd rather stay here and talk to you."

She tilted her head so she could see him. His eyes were full of an emotion she couldn't pinpoint. Excitement was there, and hope. She couldn't help but grin playfully back.

His eyes dropped to her mouth. "Hey, Shal," He breathed, "I missed you."

She gave a little gasp as his hands slid suddenly up her shoulders and into her hair. He tilted her head back, bent his head, and gave her a long, slow deep kiss.

"Brennan," She said a little breathlessly when his mouth left hers and moved slowly across her cheek to her ear. "You know Adam will just end up interrupting us—"

"I can't keep my hands off of you. You'll just have to put up with it." He ducked his head and kissed the notch of her throat.

She tried to block out the sensation of his mouth tasting her neck, groaning in only mild protest. "I thought you wanted to talk?" She tried half-heartedly one more time.

He slanted a look up at her and grinned. "We are talking."

She laughed, giving in and ducking her head to kiss him. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, closer. The album slid between them, digging into her hip, and she shifted, about to move it.

"Wait, Shal." Brennan reached between them, pulling the album back onto his lap, flipping over to the last page. There was a built in pocket, bulging slightly. She watched as he opened it, pulling out a pendant that she recognized immediately. His fingers wrapped around it as he lowered his arm and looked up at her. She reached out and ran one finger down the line of his cheek, along the stubble at the edge of his jaw, across his full bottom lip.

He watched her in silence, motionless for a moment, reaching up with his free hand and catching her hand, pressing the cool gold into her fingers, kissing her palm.

She shook her head at the gesture. "It was your mother's."

"You _recognize_ it."

She didn't imagine the little catch in his voice. The pendant meant a lot to him. She uncurled her fingers; gold winking back at them in the dim light. Brennan closed his palm over hers, finally picking it up and leaning forward, laying it around her neck. It fell heavy between her breasts, and he reached out one finger to very lightly trace the line of the gold chain against her neck. The look in his eyes scared her and left her breathless at the same time.

"Fasten it for me?" She managed.

He lifted the hair at the nape of her neck and smoothed it over one shoulder. She could feel his fingers working the clasp, and then he ducked his head and she felt his lips on the back of her neck. He ran his mouth in a long trailing kiss that started at her nape and ended at the hollow of her throat.

"Brennan…are you sure?" She trembled at the implication.

"Oh yeah."

She smiled at his tone, arms reaching up around his neck, hanging on as he leaned them back down, rolling her beneath him. He framed her face, looking at her. His eyes…the colors had changed as he watched her and now they were clear coppery brown, the pupils big and deep.

"I love you," He breathed, clearing his throat a little. "I love, Shal."

His voice was raw.

"I love you, too." Her fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him down. Beneath his kiss was tenderness, a loneliness and a hunger that matched her own. For so much of their lives, they didn't have a safe place. They had both traveled hard roads, and they had led them here. Sanctuary, the team…Brennan. They had become each other's safe place. They held on tight, sliding into each other as the edges meshed and something clicked with a force that almost hurt, with colors too beautiful to hold.

Jesse was bored.

_Bored and hungry_, he amended with raised brows, rapping his fingers against his knees, watching as Emma stared intently at the chessboard.

She sighed, and he rolled his eyes at the sound. He had lost count of the number of times she had done that in the last few minutes since Adam had left to answer an incoming message. She sighed again, rolling her bottom lip between her white teeth in a gesture he normally would have found adorable. But right now, it annoyed him. She still didn't see it. The next move was so obvious. He reached over. "If you just—"

"Jesse!" She slapped his hand away.

He groaned, pouting as she didn't even look at him, slumping back against the couch, knee bouncing in impatient energy. Finally, painstakingly she moved, hand bouncing between two pieces before sliding one forward just as Adam returned, sliding back into his vacant seat across the board.

"That was Alex." The older man explained, eyes already studying the board. "He and Danny are doing well. They want to talk to Brennan." He pushed a piece almost carelessly, standing back before he had barely sat down. Jesse rolled his eyes pointedly at Emma, startling when she suddenly jabbed an elbow into his side. He frowned, about to protest, when he caught her expression.

Oh.

He quickly jumped to his feet. "Actually, I wanted to talk to Alex myself. I'll, ah, I'll let Brennan know after I'm done." He clamped a hand on Adam's shoulder, gently pushing him back down. "You stay here and finish your game."

"Thanks, Jesse." Emma's eyes sparked with a cheerful mix of mischievous taunting and thanks. Her silent laughter invited him to share the joke. He allowed himself a small quirk of the lips that only Emma would notice and interpret correctly, giving Adam's shoulder a final pat as he turned to walk away. He grinned, turning away, suddenly cheerful. Studying her face, he had come to two conclusions. He had done well, and she would tell him all about it later.

The misting rain had turned into a gentle storm when the faint aroma of melting chocolate began wafting through Sanctuary's halls.

"I thought we could celebrate Brennan's recovery with a picnic," Adam explained with a smile when the four members of his team found him bending over the fireplace.

"Now?" Jesse's brows shot into his hairline, even as he tried to get a peek over Adam's shoulder. Whatever he was doing smelled heavenly. "It's pouring rain outside."

"Which is why I'm improvising." Adam finally turned his body sideways to look at them.

"Adam—" Shalimar grinned in sudden excitement. "You didn't?"

"I did." He triumphantly held out a stick to her, which she eagerly accepted, plopping down next to him by the fire. Her third marshmallow was already toasted brown by the time Brennan retrieved a handful of throw pillows from the rec room, tossing some over to Jesse and Emma, gingerly sitting down next to her, stretching his tender leg straight out in front of him.

"S'mores!" She grinned at him, rising up slightly as he slid a pillow under her.

"I see that," He shook his head at the smear of chocolate on her face. She stilled as he reached out, gently wiping her cheek, eyes crinkling with tenderness as he leaned in and gave her a soft kiss. He settled behind her, and she leaned back into his arms.

There were those would say they had made sacrifices for what they had. Chosen paths that had cost them dearly even as they fought to find the truth beneath the lies. They had made themselves into images outside the norm.

But those others were blind and did not see.

They had always made their own choices. That was the point. They made choices outside the accepted paths, and in doing so, uncovered truth. The rules were only illusions that had power only because they accepted them. They chased the things that could not be held, could not be brought to justice. They believed in each other, mapping the edges of their souls, lending strength. A lone voice shouting into wind, unsupported, no matter how committed, must eventually tire and give in. But the strength found in taking that journey together lent unwavering ties. For this team of five, the masks had been broken, the walls torn away until all that was left was their souls, stripped and laid bare to each other.

Becoming inextricably and utterly combined.

And in each their souls could be heard the chants of time, hints of the past and whispers of the future.

It was how they chose to live in the present moment that made the difference.

Brennan rested his chin on Shalimar's warm hair, eyes drifting to each member of his family; at Emma as she complained about Adam beating her at yet another game, the angled planes of her face free of the pain of darkness; at Jesse as he swiped a marshmallow off Shalimar's roasting stick, crowing triumphantly; at Adam as he shook his head at all their antics, smiling widely, peacefully; at Shalimar as she tipped her head back to his, eyes sparkling in the firelight.

"I love these things," Jesse enthusiastically broke the silence, cheeks bulging as he crammed an entire treat into his mouth.

Emma laughed, jumping to her feet, dashing breathlessly back after a moment, camera in hand. "Come on, it's for my photo album," She smiled convincingly when the others immediately began protesting.

One week later, Jesse groaned audibly when Emma updated her album and a picture of his chocolate smeared hair ended up next to the picture of him airborne over a daisy.

Four weeks later, when a slightly beaten up package finally reached Alex and Danny in their travels, they couldn't stop laughing when crazy pictures came tumbling out.

Eight years later, the pictures followed Danny to University, taped onto the wall behind his computer, bringing laughter on many a late night.

And many years later, one was found inside an antique pendant locket, a tiny picture of young lovers aged until it had become permanently fused to the precious metal as it was handed down through the generations.

The End!

"_But in my soul I plainly heard that chant of the seasons and time—chant, not of the past only, but of the future. Then out from behind this bending rough-cut mask, lingering a moment here and now, to you I turn as on a road, pausing, inclining…to draw and clench your soul inseparably with mine, then travel, travel on." –Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass_


End file.
